The Psychic Turnabout
by God-like Turnabout
Summary: When an innocent man is framed for the work of a serial killer, it's up to Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey to prove his innocence. But this killer wants the Ace Attorney to play his game. And there's no one better at playing games with a killer than a pseudo-psychic and his multi-named partner. Rated T just in case. Find the pineapple in every chapter.
1. Let the Game Begin

The Psychic Turnabout

Chapter 1: Let the Game Begin

Time: ?

Location: ?

In an abandoned warehouse, in the outside of L. A., a meeting was about to take place… But only a few would be willingly part of it. Light was barely present, the only source being a light bulb hanging by a wire on the ceiling. And right under said light, a couple was sitting… or, more accurately, kneeling on the floor; their hands tied behind their backs, their eyes covered in a black fabric.

Then, just as a storm was approaching, a door swung open in the distance. A woman was the first to come in, followed by a male companion; both covered by the darkness, their voices being the only hint of their genders. The woman was the first to talk:

-Is everything ready? - Was the only thing she said.

-Obviously. Otherwise, why would we be here? - Said a grave voice, obviously the man that had just come in.

-Good. Tonight, we will prove our superiority over the ones who defeated our mentors.-Said the woman, leaving the young tied couple wondering what was she talking about.

-No. - Was all the grave voice said. After a brief pause, he elaborated -Tonight, we will prove this world that we are far better than those who taught us everything we know… The student will surpass the master.

-WHERE ARE WE!? – The male member of the "audience" shouted. – WHO ARE YOU, AND WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM US!?

One would think that such outburst would surprise the mysterious pair… But it didn't.

-Looks like somebody just woke up. – The female noted. –I thought you knocked them out.

-Their condition is irrelevant at this point. The result will be the same. – Stated the man in the darkness.

Wh-What do you mean by that? – A different voice muttered. The blinded woman was now conscious. – What is this "result" you're talking about?

The dark pair shared a look with each other, before answering at the same time: -You'll find out soon. – A tone that insinuated the worst possible outcome.

Fearing the worst, the woman that was lying on the floor started crying. Knowing the end was possibly just a few minutes away, the man of the obviously kidnapped couple tried to think about something to save his girlfriend's life. But only one answer came to mind:

-Look, just take me instead of her. You don't need to kill both of us! – He tried to negotiate with their captors.

The killer couple just stood there, looking at the man trying to save the life of his lover.

-How romantic: the knight in shiny armor, trying to save the life of his princess. – The black widow noted, amusement in her voice. – But you're forgetting something…

The man's patience was running out. He had no idea what this lunatic was talking about.

-What do you mean by that? – That was the only thing he could come up with, his mind blinded by the panic… and anger.

-More like he doesn't know, don't you think? – The other soon-to-be murderer corrected. -What my partner here meant was: while you're just victims of casualty, luck or whatever you want to call it, we do need two for this game. You two fill the requirements, but our fateful meeting was a coincidence, nothing personal.

The building was silent for a whole minute, but it felt like an entire live had passed. Breaking the silence, the dark man was the first to talk:

-Now if you excuse me, I must leave. I need to finish some paperwork… And establish an alibi.

And just like that, the mysterious entity turned his face to the door as the first lightning made its appearance, signaling the beginning of a heavy rain on the outside. A car engine was heard outside of the building, indicating that the first party of this "game", as he called it, had just left the area. And once again, the warehouse was filled with a silence that rivaled only those of a graveyard.

After a few minutes, a voice stated in a monotone, almost deadly tone:

-And now, we wait. I suggest you to express your thoughts during this brief pause… You won't have another chance, after all. – And the deadly female retreated to an even darker corner of the facility.

Knowing the end was coming, the "sentenced" man whispered:

-Honey…

-Yes? – Said the crying woman.

-I love you.

-I love you, too.

Gathering the last remnants of courage he had, he continued:

-I was going to ask you something… Will you marry me?

Shock would barely describe the state in which this question left the poor woman; she knew he had given up, which erased any hope she had; but she was also happy to hear the feelings her man had for her: true love.

-YES! – It was all her broken mind, body and soul allowed her, but it was enough.

Following the voice of the one she loved, she dragged herself to her soul mate, and they both shared one final, passionate kiss.

The traumatic night taking its final toll on their bodies, they both fell to the ground face-up before expressing their feelings one last time:

-I love you. – They both said at the same time before losing consciousness.

Having witnessed the romantic scene, the last member of this eventful night thought to herself:

-Better. This way will be a lot less troublesome.

She moved to make the last preparation, setting up the necessary materials. After at least half hour of activity, in which the light rain had become a downpour, the last sounds were emitted: blades cutting through flesh, rain falling against the metallic ceiling, and lightning that was there as if to make this night more disturbing…

Location: Wright & Co. Law Offices

Time: November, 15. 11:50

It was another normal day in the Wright & Co. Law Offices: no clients to defend, a girl in a bizarre attire gulping down different kinds of food (sometimes two at the same time), and one man in a blue suit, red tie and an unusually spiky hair on his head, cleaning the toilet in the bathroom. The symbol hanging in the lapel on the left side of his suit, an attorney badge, indicated that he was a lawyer.

After having finished his task, the man retreated to his office/living room. A desk could be spotted in a corner of the room, with a shelf full of different legal books guarding its back. Next to the furniture, completing the few decoration of the office side of the room, a plant was lying on the opposite side, next to the desk and the book shelf.

-Maya, did you water Charley as I told you to? – The blue-clad man said, obviously referring to the plant

-Of course I did, Nick. What, you think I'm irresponsible enough to not take care of something as simple as "watering a plant"? – The woman, Maya Fey, stated in a mocking tone.

-Well… - "Nick" answered in the same mocking tone, countering Maya's one.

This people were Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey: Phoenix, a defense attorney, formerly employed in the Fey & Co. firm before the death of Mia Fey, his mentor, now owner of said firm and turning it into his own. He became a defense attorney for a single purpose: to defend those who were left alone, without anyone to help them; a right he himself had been denied in more than one occasion. In his short time in the bench, he has already taken the cases of several "interesting" people, cases that were considered a lost cause, and in one way or another, he managed to turn things in his favor; but most importantly, he learned the true meaning of his profession, as well as that of his opponents, the prosecutors: the verdict, in the end, was second priority. A lawyer's work was to find the truth and expose it, no matter the result, for a wrong verdict could not only let the true culprits get away with their crime, but also ruin the lives of innocent bystanders… he had learned this first-hand.

To complete the team, we have Maya Fey: a spirit medium in training that soon would become the leader of her village, and Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique: this channeling method allowed her to not only contact those who had left this world, but also be possessed by them, letting the spirits take over her body, and transform it into a duplicate of the entity in control. This "trick", as it was called by many non-believers, had proven to be useful on more than one time; Maya would let her dead sister, Mia Fey, former defense attorney and mentor of Maya's boss, to take control and assist Phoenix when he found himself in a dead end. It was by her motivation, the determination of Phoenix in court, and a little of sheer, dumb luck, that led the man to win most of his cases.

Having left the bathroom after his fight with the toilet, Phoenix was met with a typical scene: Maya eating all she could fit in the small table, in front of the couch they had for the times they had to stay overnight working on a case. A TV was set for entertaining of guests and themselves, tuned to a familiar-yet annoying for Phoenix-show: the Steel Samurai, Maya's favorite show of all live (this was a recorder chapter, so you get the idea of how much she liked it). Too tired to complain, Phoenix simply asked:

-Hey, what in the world is all that food?

-What, this? – She said in the brief moment when her jaw wasn't busy chewing. After taking another bite of what seemed to be chicken, she continued, her mouth still full – There's a new buffet restaurant down the street, and I wanted to try their menu.

-How did you… - paid was the next work to be said, but then he noticed his walled open (and empty) in the desk. He had forgotten to take it with him when he went to war against the cursed toilet, meaning only one thing: - Did you just took my wallet and spent all the money it had in that restaurant?

-What? You said it was okay to do it. And I didn't spend "all of it" – she pointed to a few dollars and coins next to the food – there's a little change.

*Note to self: never let Maya go get the lunch* Phoenix thought. He had actually told her to go get the lunch for when he was done cleaning.

Taking a seat in the empty side of the couch, he looked at the small table. *I wonder how this small piece of wood is resisting all that weight* he pondered when he saw the inhuman amount of food in the poor furniture. Before he started questioning the physics behind this, his stomach started growling: it wasn't so long ago that he had breakfast, but his cleaning duties had consumed all his energy.

-So what did you brought, anyway?

-Well, I pretty much picked everything in exhibition, but I saw several kinds of chicken, steaks, cooked meat, desserts and…

-Pies? – Phoenix commented, as he had noted several pies stacked over the table.

-Yup. I brought apple, cheese, nuts, pineapple and others.

-You know, for some reason, I want pineapple.

And so, Phoenix went to get a dish, and grabbed one of the many chicken legs, mashed potatoes and a pineapple pie.

Just then, the recorded episode of the Steel Samurai started the ending credits, indicating the episode was over. As Maya tried to reach for the remote to rewind the episode, she noticed something: both controls, TV and DVD, were gone.

-Looking for something? – Phoenix questioned in a victorious tone, as he was swinging the controllers. – You've been watching the Steel Samurai ever since we got here. Now it's my turn to watch TV. - *For once* Phoenix thought to himself.

-Not fair, Nick! I still have two more episodes from the last season! – Maya pouted, indicating that she was upset… But she ended up looking like a kid who dropped their lollipop.

-But you know them by memory! Every move, dialogue, the final outcome; heck, you even know every continuity error!

-As a true fan of the Steel Samurai, I must know when something was part of the story, and when it was someone messing up the episode!

Phoenix only sighed after hearing the enthusiasm his assistant expressed towards a kids show. *How can someone like a show that's aimed to a 10-year old audience? And with such passion, for that matter!* He thought to himself. After he was done questioning Maya's love for the Steel Samurai, he said:

-Anyway… Your love for this show aside, Edgeworth called me earlier this morning.

-And what did he said? – Maya said as she was taking another slice of apple pie.

-He told me I should watch the news at 12 o' clock. Said there would be something that I had to see.

Tuning the TV back to regular channels, he searched for the channel his friend (and rival), Miles Edgeworth, requested him. Once he found the channel, he saw a familiar, yet unpleasant sight: the entrance to the Detention Center, a place that had hosted several of his previous clients… Including, in more than one occasion, his own assistant, Maya. The building was full of filming crew from different news channels and broadcast teams. Considering the building they were surrounding, there was only one possible conclusion: a press conference was about to take place.

Just as predicted, the reporters and microphones gathered near a podium established at the entrance. After a few minutes full of nothing, the first to approach the reporters was a familiar, friendly face with a band aid on his left cheek: it was Detective Dick Gumshoe, a police detective in the LAPD. He was usually the detective in charge of most (if not all) of the cases Phoenix had. Wearing a greenish, dusty coat, detective Gumshoe could be described in one word: clumsy. How someone like him became a detective, or even a cop for that matter, was a question as complicated as the most basic human philosophical question of "Why are we here?", but in one way or another, he had proven himself useful in the quest for the truth: providing evidence that helped defense and prosecution alike, saving the lives of both Phoenix and Maya, as well as that of others, detective Gumshoe proved that, sometimes, all you need is a little of dumb luck and dedication for what you do.

After a few more minutes of preparation (including unfolding a previously made speech, dropping it and picking it up), the head detective started:

-Good morning, citizens of Los Angeles. Today, we are here to inform you of a certain event that took place just outside of L.A, but it still concern the city: as some of you might have heard, there's been a brutal murder, and the bodies were discovered in a construction site of the Waltz Light Company, which is currently remodeling and performing routine maintenance, giving the perpetrator easy access to the facility… What was I supposed to say now?

*And there he goes. Trademark clumsiness of detective Gumshoe* Phoenix thought to himself. As the poor detective was searching himself for the next part of the speech, Maya inquired:

-A murder? I didn't know about that, so what does he mean by "as some of you might have heard"? And since when does detective Gumshoe prepares a speech like that?

-Probably Edgeworth made it for him. And maybe they're preventing a massive rumor to scare the city, if that murder was as bad as they say it was. – Phoenix inquired. *That speech was obviously made by Edgeworth. No way could Gumshoe prepare something that long with such an extended vocabulary* He added in his mind.

Just as Phoenix was wondering why would a man as calculative as his friend would give someone as distracted as Gumshoe a fragmented speech, the detective found the rest of it and got back in track:

-As I was saying – "God, that was awkward" could be heard be whispered by the poor man – there is absolutely no need to panic. The person responsible for this has been found and taken into custody. He's currently locked in the Detention Center – he pointed with his thumb to the building behind him -, but as requested by Mr. Edgeworth, I'll let him take care of the remaining information.

And just like that, Gumshoe stepped out of the podium and went back inside of the building. A lot of questions from the media erupted, and amidst the scandal, one could discern questions like "What happened exactly?" "Who are the victims?" and many others demanding information about the events.

Before mass hysteria erupted, a man came out of the building. He was young, in his late 20's at worst (although he had grayish hair, which could deceive those who didn't know him), wearing a wine-colored suit with a cravat on his neck instead of a tie. He was prosecutor Miles Edgeworth, one of Phoenix' oldest friends and his rival in court. They both attended the same school during their childhood, but an incident many years ago had forced him to leave, and after a long time they finally met again. But something had changed inside Edgeworth in the years they were separated: his father was a defense attorney, so it was to be expected that he became one as well, following the steps of his father. His admiration of his father was so great, that he defended Phoenix during a class trial in which he was accused of stealing the lunch money of the very person that was defending him. But when they met in court, not only was he a prosecutor, but also a ruthless one at that. But after a strange series of events, he was somewhat back to be who he used to be: he wanted to defend the truly innocent people, but also bring the real culprits to justice… He was searching his path as a prosecutor.

After the media circus had cooled down with a hand gesture from the young prosecutor, he started ordering his ideas, before finally breaking the silence:

-Thank you, detective… As you have been previously informed, we have a suspect in custody, so there is absolutely no need to panic. This person is currently under interrogation, and more information shall be released once the processing is finished… Now I must leave, but I have time left for a quick session of Q&A before I retreat to finish the investigation.

And right on cue, chaos erupted once again, but slightly more organized than last time: all the crew from every channel pushed its way towards Edgeworth, hoping to have some of their questions answered. The prosecutor chose a random person from the group, who proceeded to ask:

-Mr. Edgeworth, Do you know the identity of the victims?

-Victims? And what makes you think there is more than one?

-Detective Gumshoe mentioned it earlier. He said, and I quote "bodies were discovered".

Edgeworth was obviously frustrated, as the look on his face made it obvious. *Curses, Detective. How many salary cuts do I have to give you until you stop messing up!?* Edgeworth thought to himself as he remembered he never wrote anything about bodies, but "evidence of a murder". After regaining composure, he answered:

-I'm afraid the identification process hasn't been performed yet. The bodies – he chewed his lip after saying that word, as it reminded him of the detective's error – are currently on the forensic lab, where the autopsy is currently taking place. Next question please.

And he pointed to another reporter:

-Sir, what can you tell us about your suspect?

Edgeworth was prepared for this one:

-As of right now, the only thing I can tell you is that we have decisive evidence that he is, in fact, the true culprit of this event. – He quickly checked his watch – I'm afraid that is all I can tell you. Now, if you excuse me, I must return to the investigation.

As he turned his back, he could be seen taking something from his pocket: a cell phone. He then started pushing buttons on it, obviously trying to make a call.

Back at Wright & Co. Phoenix was wondering why his friend would want him to see that conference. *Maybe he wanted to brag about his important job* the defense attorney thought to himself. *Nah, Edgeworth might be a little cocky on court, but he's not the kind that does things just to show. There has to be a meaning to this*

His train of thought was interrupted by a familiar and electronic sound: The Steel Samurai theme, or more accurately, a ringtone version of it that Maya installed on his cell phone. Someone was calling him, and based on the events he has just witnessed, he knew who it was. He picked his phone from his pocket and answered:

-Hello. Who is it? – He asked, more out of reflex than actual curiosity.

-Hello, Wright. – Just as he thought, Miles Edgeworth was on the other side of the line – You saw the news as I asked you to, didn't you?

-Yeah, I did. But what was the point of it? You only mentioned a murder.

-That was just the story we give to the general public. Right now, I need you and Miss Fey to come down to the Detention Center as soon as you can. No questions, and don't tell anyone about this.

Of all the things he was expecting to hear, this wasn't one of them. Phoenix remained silent for a moment, letting his mind process this request. After a few seconds, he finally gave a response:

W-Wait… What do you mean? Why do you want me to go there? – He thought for an additional second if he should ask his next question, but he found no reason to avoid it – Does this have anything to do with the case you were talking about earlier? That double murder?

Even Maya dropped the food she had on her fork when she heard this. After more silence, Phoenix finally got an answer… A vague one, unfortunately:

-Look, I can't discuss this on the phone. Just come here and I'll answer whatever questions you have, got it?

The call suddenly ended, indicating Edgeworth had hung up. He wasn't giving Phoenix a choice. After just staring at the device, a touch on his back brought him back to reality:

-Nick, what's going on? – Maya asked with obvious concern on her voice.

-Edgeworth called. He asked me to go to the Detention Center… And when I asked him about the case on the TV, he finished the call almost instantly.

It was Maya's turn to process the prosecutor's request. After a few seconds of deep thought, she asked:

-Sooo… What are you going to do?

-Well…– Phoenix meditated about it. He noticed the worried tone the voice of his friend had during that call, so he knew this was important. – It sounded like he was really desperate to have me there, so I think we should go. I don't know what he wants, but I do know something: if he's "asking" for something, then he really needs help.

Location: Detention Center, Private room.

Time: November 15, 12:30

The room in the Detention Center, in which a guard had placed Phoenix and Maya after they identified themselves, was everything you would expect of a meeting room: a table, chairs and a few drawers with several files (no doubt about deals performed by the prosecutors that used the room), all clean and ordered.

After about 5 minutes waiting, the door finally opened, revealing a familiar, and friendly, face: it was Detective Gumshoe.

-Hey! Morning, pal. How are you guys doing? – Gumshoe extended one hand to Phoenix

-Hello, Detective. - Phoenix saluted as he took Gumshoe's sweaty hand.

-Hi, Detective. – Maya said from the back.

-Sorry about asking, but… - Phoenix started as he cleaned the sweat on his suit – Why are you so nervous?

Gumshoe rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

-*Sigh* I guess you noticed, huh. I just got scolded by Mr. Edgeworth for giving that "confidential info" to the press. He said I wasn't supposed to say anything about the bodies, and he also threatened to cut my salary to half of it again if I messed up like that again.

*Ouch* Phoenix thought to himself. *Poor guy is already on a daily diet of instant noodles, and Edgeworth wants to take more money away from him? What is he going to eat, half cup of noodles?*

-Well, I guess I did say more than I should have back there, heh heh. But you know what they say: live and learn, right pal?

Phoenix just nodded awkwardly. After a few minutes of casual conversation: Phoenix noticed something:

-Where's Edgeworth? We've been for about ten minutes, and he hasn't showed up yet.

-Mr. Edgeworth is currently in a meeting with the Crime Scene Unit, gathering all the evidence from the initial investigation, but he should be here at any second.

Almost as if summoned, the door opened once again to reveal the face of Miles Edgeworth, cravat and everything. He made a gesture with his hand, indicating Gumshoe that he had to leave them alone. After the detective had left the room, Edgeworth approached to the Wright & Co. team and greeted both of them, apologizing for his delay in attending them. After the formalities, the prosecutor went ahead to the main topic:

-Wright, I assume you are aware of the reason as to why I asked you to come here…

Phoenix was expecting this, so he asked a question to which he already knew the answer:

-This is about the case you're working on, isn't it? The double murder at the Waltz Company?

-I'm afraid so… But that's not quite the reason why I asked you to come.

-Then what is it?

There was more silence. Obviously Edgeworth was thinking the better way to explain the situation, whatever it was. After a few seconds, the truth came out:

-Wright, the reason why I asked you to come is certainly related to my case, but said case is not the reason why I asked for your presence… Not directly, at least. Remember I announced that we had someone under custody?

-Yeah, I assume it's pretty much the reason why you gave that conference: avoid any possible panic that a brutal killer was out on the streets.

-Indeed, it was. People from both the construction and electricity companies found the bodies, and they were quite shocked from the scene. And I can't say I blame them. – Realizing they were getting off topic, the prosecutor shook his head to the sides and proceeded – Anyway, we do have someone under custody. There was evidence on the scene indicating to this person, so we tracked him down to his residence and the arrest was immediate. But when we started the interrogation, the man only said two specific things: first, he told us that he had a partner out there, and they had planted time bombs all over the city.

Once this information was revealed, both Phoenix and Maya felt as if their souls had been to Hell and back. Edgeworth allowed them a few moments to process this new information, and then proceeded with his briefing:

-Needless to say, no one believed a word of what he was saying. When he noticed this, he gave us one of the locations for a bomb. Not wanting to take any chances, I asked for a patrol to investigate the place, which was at a highly used train station…

-What happened? – Phoenix and Maya asked at the same time, fearing the worst.

-Turns out he was telling the truth. A K-9 unit was sent with the patrol as per the protocol, and the dog gave a positive response to a backpack that was left under a bench. The Bomb Squad was deployed to the location, and the device was disarmed. It was a pipe bomb, strong enough to kill anyone in a 15 ft. radius.

Phoenix and Maya were completely speechless. For one, they were shocked by the fact that this bomb had been placed in a train station, considering they had thought about taking a train to the Detention Center. And second, they still didn't know what was the point of bringing a lawyer and his assistant into this, which reminded Phoenix:

-Whoa, wait, hold on a second. You said the guy mentioned TWO things: first the bombs, but what else? And what does this have to do with Maya and me?

Edgeworth just crossed his arms and started moving his index finger up and down. Phoenix knew this gesture all too well: his friend was annoyed.

-I was getting to that, Wright. Don't be so hasty… Anyway, with the bomb out of the way, we continued the interrogation, but we were cut short by the second demand from this guy. And since the threat of bombs was still present, we were in no position to ignore any request. So I asked him what were his demands, and he only said one thing: "Bring Phoenix Wright here now!"

If the shock of knowing he could have an imminent death by a random explosion in the city didn't scare the hell out of him (which it did), the idea of a murderer asking for HIS presence certainly did the job. Phoenix was already sweating bullets by now, and this had brought him to a point where he feared a death by dehydration.

-He-he w-wanted… m-m-me? – Poor Phoenix couldn't even speak properly. – B-but w-why!?

-I don't know. He only asked us to bring you here and then he would give us a code to deactivate the others at distance. In fact, I was actually hoping you could get this guy to talk.

If there was something Phoenix didn't like, it was feeling as if he was being used. He had enough of it in Ivy U, from people threatening him to do their bidding, to "her". This was for a greater good, though, so it partially alleviated the feeling. After ordering the chaos that his mind currently was, he remembered the risk the city was currently in, so he decided to move on with the conversation:

-So… Where is he? – It took all of his will power not to stutter.

-He's in a special room. We use it to conduct the interrogations at the Detention Center, but he asked to hold the meeting specifically in that room. Follow me; I'll take you both there.

*Oh, joy.* Phoenix thought. *I'm going to be trapped in a room, possibly alone, with a double murderer… Why do you hate me so much, Universe?*

After a long walk, the trio was in front of a door with a huge glass next to it. Looking through the glass, all Phoenix could spot was a young man, possibly in his early 30's, sitting in front of a metallic table. He was staring at the walls, never noticing the attorney looking at him through the window. *Must be one of those one-sided windows* Phoenix thought. He was brought back to reality by a slight tap on his shoulder: Edgeworth gave him and Maya a signal to get in the room.

The atmosphere in the room could be described in only two words: "terrifying" and "awkward". On one hand, they were sharing the room with a killer that not only had dispatched two innocent people, but also threatened to blow up several points across the city just to get the presence of a spiky-haired attorney. But there was something else that interrupted the "I'm going to get killed if I stay here" atmosphere: this so-called killer looked distracted. He was staring at the only window that allowed the pass of light from the outside, not even turning around when the door opened. Once the door closed, however, he quickly glanced at the people that had just come in. He disregarded the prosecutor as an already known face, quickly examined Maya (mostly interested in her robes, as proven when he uttered "Interesting wardrobe"), but stopped cold when he saw Phoenix. He then stood up, approached Edgeworth and whispered something to his ear. The prosecutor left the room, but not before whispering to Phoenix "Be careful. And tell me everything he says to you". Then he approached to what Phoenix thought it was the AC system, but after he lifted the switch, Phoenix couldn't feel the room getting hotter or colder. Before he could wonder what that was supposed to do, Maya pulled his sleeve and pointed to the one-sided mirror: it was now a regular window, showing the outside.

After Edgeworth was gone and out of view, the man closed the door without a previous warning. After that, the most unexpected thing one could think of under these circumstances took place: the guy fell to his knees in front of Phoenix and… began to cry?

*What the hell!?* That was all the defense attorney could think of in this situation. And adding to the weirdness, Phoenix started patting the man on the back, more instinctively than out of actual pity. After a good 5 minutes of tears, snots and Kleenex, Phoenix decided to start the conversation:

-Are you alright? – Phoenix asked.

-Y-yes. I'm fine. I'm just glad you're finally here…

-Finally?

After removing a few remaining tears, the man continued:

-Thank God you're here Mr. Wright. My name is Frank. Frank Lincoln. I'm sorry I had to force you to come here, but… Look, I need your help.

Both Phoenix and Maya were dumbfounded. Things were going way too fast: first, they're told a murderer had requested his presence, and next thing they know, said person is crying right in front of them and asking for their help.

-Wh-what? – The defense duo asked at the same time as a drop of sweat was falling from each of their heads.

"Awkward silence" could barely describe what happened next. You could throw in some cricket noise, and still not make the atmosphere more uncomfortable. After putting his ideas in order, Phoenix decided to ask:

-Why did you ask me to come here?

-Well… That's a long story.

-You can tell us. It's not like we have anything better to do. – Maya interrupted, earning her a glare from Phoenix – What? It's the truth.

Phoenix just sighed at this. *I hate when she's right. But most important, we have to find out what this guy wants with me* Phoenix thought. Before he could move on with the conversation, however, Frank proceeded:

-Mr. Wright. You know why am I here don't you?

Phoenix meditated if he should answer the man's question. He knew why he was here, but that was the very reason why he thought he shouldn't say anything: if he angered this person while it was just the three of them, something really bad could happen. So he thought about the best, nicer and less life-threatening answer he could give:

-You were arrested. – That was the best he could come up with. It was the truth, yet it was soft enough to not push the wrong buttons.

-*Sigh* Unfortunately. But listen: – his voice was getting louder and more excited – whatever they told you I did, I didn't do it! You have to believe me!

Phoenix was getting more interested in this man's story. *Accused of something you didn't do? Never heard that before* Phoenix thought sarcastically, since pretty much all of his clients told the same story, with a few exceptions. But what actually compelled him to stay, was the fact that most of them were truly innocent.

-Alright, let's get over the facts again, if you agree. – Frank nodded in approval. – You were arrested and charged for a double murder, and the bodies were found in the construction site next to the Waltz Co.

-Exactly. They arrested me because they found evidence that points to me as the responsible… That and the fact that I, heh heh, work there as part of the construction crew.

*HE WORKS THERE!? That would give him the means to get in the facilities… Drat! You're not making this any easier!* Phoenix shouted in his mind.

-*Sigh* Anyway… When you were under interrogation, you told the police that you had an accomplice on the outside; waiting to detonate bombs if they didn't bring me to you, right?

-Pretty much yeah, but there's something else YOU need to know. – Frank said, putting an extra emphasis on the "you" part. As if this was something he needed to know more than anyone… or something only he should know.

Frank then turned towards the back of his chair, searching in a jacket neither Phoenix nor Maya had noticed before. He then pulled out a cassette, along with a player for it, and placed them in front of him. After he was done, he continued with the explanation:

-Mr. Wright. A few days ago, I found this, along with another cassette, mixed with my daily mail. At first I thought it was some kind of new advertising, but there was a note with the package that said: "Play me. It's for their good". At the bottom of the envelope that carried the cassettes, there was a picture… - A few more tears could be seen coming from the corner of his eye. – It was a picture of… my girlfriend and son. Her mouth was covered by what seemed to be a sock. Probably to prevent her from screaming. My baby was sleeping in his little rocking chair. – He then took out the photo from his pocket, and showed it to the duo.

This day was already bad enough for Phoenix and Maya, but hearing this story completely broke their hearts. Unable to do anything, as every rational thought had gone to the south, Frank continued:

-I did as the note told me to. I played the one that had my name on it and left the one labeled as "Him" aside. My mind was only focused on the picture, but I remember the basic idea of the message: a distorted voice told me that he had my family, and if I wanted to see them again, I'd have to "play a game". The voice told me about the murders that would take place today, and told me not to interfere. It also told me that the police would come after me as the prime suspect. When that happened, I was supposed to tell the cops about the bombs and give them one of the locations if they didn't seem to believe me. The next step was to ask- no, demand for your presence, and give the cops this when you showed up – Frank took a paper out of his pocket and showed it to Phoenix. It had several numbers on it. – It's the code to disarm the bombs. There's also a website. You open it and input the code. That is supposed to turn them off.

Phoenix was about to stand up and take the code to Edgeworth (there was a brief moment where he considered giving it to Gumshoe, but he discarded the idea almost immediately). Before he could at least reach the door, however, there was a shout:

-WAIT!

Phoenix froze in his place. Frank was standing, his face full of fear that his only hope was about to leave him there.

-I'm supposed to give it to either the cops or a prosecutor. Besides, there's also something else for you. – He raised the cassette from the table. – You have to hear this.

Frank handed Phoenix the cassette, and the first thing the attorney noticed was a label on one of the sides: "Him". Suddenly, the world around Phoenix seemed to vanish. There was only him and the cassette. What brought him back to reality this time, was a light tap on his arm by Maya. She pointed him to a corner, indicating she wanted to talk to him in private. They moved to the farthest corner of the room for their little chat. Maya was the first to talk: (note that the following is in whispers)

-Nick. Are you sure we should be doing this? We don't even know who he is.

-I know, Maya. But you saw the photo. We can't just leave him like this.

-I know that. Look, I'm not saying we should leave him, but we better make sure that he's telling the truth.

He knew what the medium was talking about. She told him to use the Magatama: an ancient amulet from the Fey family. Given to him by Maya and charged with Pearl's (Maya's cousin) spiritual energy. This energy allowed its user (Phoenix) to see the mental barriers a person had to cover a secret, known as Psyche-Locks. The more Locks a person had around his/her heart, the more concealed a secret was.

But there was a trick to it: if your question is too accurate, someone could tell the truth about that question and escape the jewel's power via a Loophole. In short, you could ask a person if they killed someone, and they could answer with a simple no. However, that person could have hired someone to do the evil deed. They didn't kill anyone directly, but they were still responsible for it. Phoenix had to learn this lesson the hard way.

Before seating back, Phoenix had a quick thought: *Hey! When did Maya became the voice of reason?* But he then hated himself for thinking like that about his assistant, as he started to remember the recent events that forced her to mature her attitude…

Avoiding any kind of painful reminiscence, Phoenix took a seat, and prepared for his own "interrogation":

-Alright, Mr. Lincoln…

-Call me Frank. – Frank interrupted.

-Frank… Before we go any further, I'd like to ask you some questions…

-NOW!? Can't you see I'm in a hurry!? – The man shouted.

-Look, I just want to make sure that I can trust you. Then I'll help you save your family.

Frank slowly calmed himself, apparently realizing the attorney had a valid point.

-Fine. But hurry up; I don't know how much time I have.

Holding the Magatama in his pocket, Phoenix started the process:

-Frank… Did you kill-No… Are you involved in any way with the murders?

-No, sir. I had nothing to do with it. I just knew they would happen beforehand, but I'm in no way responsible for it.

A few seconds passed without events of any kind, so the questioning continued:

-Is this kidnap real? – Phoenix asked.

-YEAH! You think I would do this to my own family!? – Frank answered, obviously mad at the insinuation that he would do such a thing.

Phoenix didn't flinch at the outburst. He was expecting it. And once again, nothing happened, so he asked his last question:

-Frank: Are you telling us the truth? And I mean the whole truth: no lies, no secrets or in any way hiding information from us? – Truth be told, after the time when a murderer almost got away unpunished due to the loophole in the Magatama, he started to develop a line of questioning that could cover all of the bases. This last question is one he developed after a lot of trial and error (mostly by asking Maya if she had eaten the last of any kind of food in the fridge. She may not have done the act yet, but she could certainly hide a slice of cake for later).

And then it happened: three Psyche-Locks appeared right in front of Frank, the only one able to see them being Phoenix.

-No, sir. That's all I know. – Frank said, unaware that his secrets had been exposed.

Since he was just staring at the man, Maya was getting impatient:

-Nick, do you see anything? – Maya whispered on his ear since she could not see the Locks by herself.

-Yes. Three locks – Phoenix whispered back – Huh? Wait a second… - Before he could say anything else, he noticed something odd about the Psyche-Locks:

The first was an average lock: red with golden decorations and a keyhole, located in the middle of the set. The other two locks, however, had slight changes on them… The one at Phoenix's left was like his brother in the middle; the only difference being the lack of key hole. Instead, there was a text engraved on it. Phoenix tried to focus his eyes on the text, but the lock (as if reading his mind) approached to him so he could have a better look at it. There was a name on the place where a keyhole should have been…

-Maya, have you ever heard of Psyche-Locks with text on them? – Phoenix whispered to the medium.

-Huh? Text? – The girl was caught off-guard by this question. – Nope, never heard of it. Why?

-One of them has a name on it. Some – He turned to the lock in order to read the name – Shawn Spencer.

-Well, I've never heard of Psyche-Locks with names on them. And I don't know who this "Shawn" guy is, either. – The girl pondered about the issue for a few seconds. – My guess is that we're only going to crack that thing if he comes here.

Phoenix decided to leave that lock aside, and brought his attention to the next one…

This lock also had a text on it. Only this time, the text was a date: November 16, 9:50 a.m.

-The other one has a date on it. Tomorrow at 9:50 a.m. –Phoenix reported back to Maya.

-Well, I guess it must be the same story but with another target: we won't open that lock until we reach that date.

Phoenix had already considered that possibility. But hearing it from someone more related with mystical issues was always reassuring. He started to weight his options, and after a few moments, Maya asked the very same question that was in his head:

-What do you think? Can we trust him?

-Well… - He thought about the best way to describe their current situation. – He certainly knows more than he's telling us. I mean, he has three Psyche-Locks, after all. But there is no sign that he's involved in the murders or the kidnap. But I'm more concerned about that tape he has. – He pointed to the cassette that was directed to him.

-So he might know something, but he's not a killer or a kidnapper, right? Then I say we should help him. – Maya said cheerfully.

The defense attorney was left with two choices: on one side, Frank had three Psyche-Locks (two with specific requirements to break them); and he was pretty sure those secrets would come back to bite him when he less expected it. However, this man's family was also in danger, of that he was sure. And they had already proven that this man wasn't involved in any death. Both options countered each other, but hearing Maya approving of helping him made the decision an obvious one:

-Alright, Frank. Let's see what this guy has for me.

Having his plead for help positively answered, Frank jumped out of his seat, fists raised to the air in celebration and shouting "Hell Yeah!" at the top of his lungs. Without any delay, he took the tape and the player and handed them to Phoenix:

-Maybe you should do the honors, Mr. Wright.

Taking the equipment, Phoenix started placing the cassette on its place (thankfully it had the label "This side up"). Before doing anything else, he asked:

-Everyone ready? – A nod from Maya and Frank was the answer. – Well… Here we go.

After pushing the Play button, there was a brief moment of static before they were greeted by an eerie and distorted voice:

-Hello, Mr. Phoenix Wright. I want to play a game…

-Wow. That reminds me of that horror movie we saw once, but I can't remember its name. – Maya said in the brief pause the voice made, earning her a glare from both men. Before a scolding came, the voice continued:

-During your entire career, you've been defending those who are truly innocent and have no one by their side. A noble act, indeed. I'd give you my respect, if not for a single reason: you've never done anything by yourself. - *What does he mean by "Never done anything by yourself"? I resent that* Phoenix thought. – And by that, I'm not talking about any kind of help you might get from that air-headed assistant of yours, - Maya pouted at this – her little cousin, or even your "dead" mentor.

Both Phoenix and Maya were surprised by the emphasis the voice used on the word "Dead", almost as if it knew about the channeling. This was confirmed instantly:

-Yes, Mr. Wright. And you as well, Ms. Maya Fey, since you must be also listening to this. I know about the Kurain technique, but let's get back to the main topic… The kind of help I'm talking about is one you're not supposed to have, and yet you do, and it gives you a great and unfair advantage over other lawyers: inside help. Help from inside the Prosecution's office or the Police Department. They're supposed to be against you, yet they give you all the ammo you need to win your case. Miles Edgeworth has helped you God knows how many times, Franziska von Karma tagged along with the plan to delay the trial from that Hazakura case, and that Godot guy even brought your attention back to a murder he himself committed. Don't take it personally, I find your sense of justice admirable. But I'm also disappointed with the law-enforcement officers: if they did their job right in the first place, no innocent would ever be punished. Consider this game a lesson for both the defense and the prosecution, which takes me to the rules…

Phoenix had an inhuman blend of feelings: he was offended by the voice's insinuation that he would be incapable of winning cases without help; scared of its knowledge about Maya, Pearl and Kurain, making him wonder how much this person knew about them; but most of all, he was disgusted by its hypocrisy at saying it admired his sense of justice, yet it kidnapped a family for a twisted game.

Maya had similar feelings right now (minus the offended part), but was mostly scared about what this voice knew about her family. The most shocking for her was the fact that it knew about Pearl. But before anyone could say anything, the message continued:

-Mr. Wright. The rules are simple but long. You can play this tape as many times as you like, but I wouldn't waste any time on replays if I were you: the man in front of you is named Frank Lincoln, but I assume introductions were already performed, so let me tell you something about him… This man is innocent of any charges he has against him. The murders were all committed by my person and a second party, and we also kidnapped his family. He's just a mean to an end, so this is where you come in: I want you to defend him in court, but I assume you were already planning to do so as soon as you heard my confession. – Phoenix was once again surprised by how cleverly the voice could predict his next move. – However, unlike Shelly de Killer, I'm not going to tell you how to do your job, or force you to break your principles. I don't even care about the verdict. I just want to test your true capabilities as an attorney. Should you refuse… Well, let's just say Frank is going to have his next family reunion at the morgue.

At this threat, Frank started to cry once again, so Phoenix decided to pause the tape for a moment and went to comfort his future client:

-Frank, are you ok?

-Please, Mr. Wright. You have to do it! – The poor man was shaking in fear.

-Don't worry. I wasn't planning to decline, anyway. Not only you're innocent, but two people's lives depend on this. There's no doubt I'm taking this case, but I need to hear the rest of that tape.

The words seemed to have worked, since Frank was starting to calm down. After getting everyone's approval, Phoenix started the tape again:

-After you take the case, my rules are simple: you can manage it as you see fit, but you can't tell the police, or any prosecutor, about my messages or this man's situation. Let them act on the idea that Frank is a cold-blooded killer. You can still get reports and evidence from them since it's mandatory they give them to you at some point before the trial, but let them figure out the rest by themselves. I'll know if you tell them. Trust me, I have my own means to know, and the same threat goes for spilling the beans about me…

*So this person wants me to defend Frank, not telling the police about the tapes? And how would he or she know if I tell them?* Phoenix was trying to understand his current situation, but his train of thoughts was interrupted by one last message:

-Oh, and one last thing. And this one you can tell the cops, but tell them Frank said this… Call Santa Barbara. Tell them that Ying Yang moved to L. A. – And just like that, the tape stopped.

**A/N: Hello, reader. If you're reading this, it means I did a good work on keeping you interested enough to reach the end. So thank you for reading this, and I have a few messages of myself for all of you (no audio tapes or murders from me… yet. I promise).**

**First of all, this is my first fanfic. I just had this crazy idea of Psych and its antics mixed with the Ace Attorney universe, and I couldn't get it out of my head. Next thing you know, I'm spending any free time alone I can get by writing this (including nights without sleep, since I can't write if I'm being watched). First fic = reviews and feedback accepted, but please don't flame. If you have hate in your heart, go punch a boulder or something (internet cookie if you know where this comes from).**

**Second, and this is to avoid a lot of reviews with the same content: I know the timelines of Ace Attorney and Psych don't match (Bridge to the Turnabout is in 2019, and Yang 3 in 2D was released in 2010), but just pretend this is an universe where the events of the game happened earlier in time, or Psych is in the future. Whatever suits you the most.**

**I have a few scenarios I want to include in this fic, but it's up to the fans if I should give a few spoilers. So vote in the review section if I should reveal them beforehand. Here's a little incentive: guests whipped and girly screams.  
**

**I think I'm forgetting about something… *gets whipped by Franzy* OOOUCH! What the hell!? Oh, right: Psych doesn't belong to me. All props belong to its creator, Steve Franks, and whatever company owns it. Neither does Ace Attorney. That would be Capcom and the genius of Shu Takumi… I sure as hell wish they did, but they don't.**


	2. Challenge Accepted!

The Psychic Turnabout

Chapter 2: Challenge Accepted

Location: Santa Barbara

Time: 1988

It was summer in Santa Barbara: a hot day with people heading to the beach to refresh themselves, birds coming and going, and kids playing on the streets, all of them free from the responsibilities of school… This brings us to a residential area of the city.

-SHAWN! – A man was heard shouting to the streets, his voice being a mixture of anger and concern.

Right in front of his house, a group of kids were playing baseball on the street… Or at least that was their original plan. The kids decided earlier to set some challenges to see who could do better with the ball; and the last one was to see who could knock a can from a voluntary without hitting the other. The one with the ball at the moment was a brown-haired kid wearing a green t-shirt, about to toss the ball to another one with dark skin wearing a light blue one.

-Now what? – The kid with the ball asked with annoyance coming from his voice.

-What the hell are you doing? – His father asked in a more calmed and collected tone.

-Uh… Playing baseball. Don't you see the balls and the bats? – Shawn answered as if he had been asked "2+2?"

-No. What I see is you and your friends tossing the ball at each other's heads. What do you have to say about that, kid?

Henry Spencer, a police officer from the SBPD as his uniform made clear, thought he had the upper hand against his son for a second. But as he remembered that things were never easy with Shawn, his son retorted:

-They started it! They told me I couldn't knock the can out of Gus' head, even though they saw how good I am at throwing the ball. (**A/N: for those of you knowledgeable of the show, this is before Shawn got the yips at tossing the ball**)

Grabbing the sides of his head to avoid the incoming migraine, Henry started to think about the best way to explain his son the situation. Then he came up with a somewhat decent way to do it:

-So they challenged you? – Shawn nodded at this. – Fine. I've already given you the "If they jump from a cliff, would you do it?" talk, and you still did this. So let me put it this way: what if you actually miss the shot? Best case scenario: you have to go and pick the ball. Worst case scenario? – Henry asked his son to see if he got the message.

-I hit Gus in the head. – Shawn said.

-Exactly. One hit in the head from you would be strong enough to knock him out for a while, which I'm pretty sure you had already considered since you're not dumb.

-SAY WHAT!? – Gus was heard shouting in the back. – Didn't you say nothing would happen!?

Both Spencer ignored the comment from Gus and moved on with their conversation:

-Shawn, listen. – Henry then kneeled to be at eye-level with his son. - Just because someone is challenging you, that doesn't mean you have to ignore the rest of the world and take the bait to protect your pride, or some silly idea like that. You have to consider not only if you're sure you can do whatever anyone ask you to, but also the consequences of what you're about to do… Think about it. – Henry got up and before leaving he said: - Get back to play with your friends. And no more dumb challenges! Got it?

-Yes, dad. – Shawn said in a cheerful tone, which worried Henry. Every time his son used that tone it only meant one thing: his son got the lesson, that's for sure. But he didn't consider it relevant for kids playing.

As Henry reached the front door of his house, he heard the kids arguing:

-Saved by the daddy bell, Spencer. – One of the kids said.

-Shut up. I could make that shot any day. – His son talked back.

-Oh, yeah? Prove it! – Another one said.

-Gladly.

-I HEARD THAT, SHAWN! – His dad shouted from his house. – That's Strike Two for you kid! Next time, I'm getting you inside the house. – Before anyone could laugh at Shawn, Henry added: - And if I hear anyone else making challenges, I'm calling your parents.

And with that, Henry Spencer went back to the inside of his house. All the kids just continued with an average baseball game, too scared to do anything else from the parents threat.

*I could have done that* Shawn thought to himself as he picked up the bat, too frustrated to throw the ball.

Location: Psych Detective Agency

Time: November, 15. 8:30. (4 hours ago)

It was another day at the Psych Detective Agency: just two guys in their office, finding ways to waste their times until a new case came up, this time by playing videogames. These people were Shawn Spencer and Burton Guster (Gus for the friends, different names for the strangers). Shawn is a psychic that works with the police and private clients alike… or so he claims to be. In fact, he just has great observation, analysis and deduction skills worthy of the finest of detectives. He claims to be a psychic due to an event in which he gave a tip to the police that was too accurate, almost like an inside leak. Long story short, he claimed to be a psychic to save himself from prison; and he must continue with the farce since he already lied to the police (in his defense, he actually tried to tell them he just noticed something the police missed at first).

And then there's Gus: a pharmaceutical representative, and Shawn's best friend and partner in crime (solving). He's the "straight man" of the duo, but he can also tag along with Shawn and his antics. While his friend is the "psychic", Gus also provides a few points to the Psych team. Namely: the blueberry (the car from his company), the Super Sniffer (Gus has an acute sense of smell), and a positive work attitude. Gus can also provide background information on a case and knowledge of several drugs and medicines from his line of work.

While playing videogames might seem like an average activity (even if performed by two grown men), there was a certain oddity about it: Shawn was playing with the control behind his back… And he was winning.

-I told you: I'm better than you at Halo. – Shawn said without losing focus on the game.

-Oh, no. I'm not going to lose like this! – Said Gus with passion in his eyes.

And just a few moments later, one of the Spartans in the game was killed…

-HAHA! My favorite 3 words: I Told You! Money, please.

-I don't even know why I agreed to this. – Said Gus between grunts.

-Come on, Gus. Nobody likes a bad loser. Plus, you're the one that challenged me, not the other way.

And just as Gus was giving Shawn five dollars, the phone started ringing.

-Can you take it, Gus? I got to go do some "private business".

-That is nasty, Shawn.

And one trip to the bathroom later:

-What did I miss? – Asked Shawn.

-It was chief Vick. She wants us in the station ASAP.

-Oh, ASAP. Must be important… You think it might be about the check for our last case? – Shawn joked, but he also knew it was serious if the chief was calling them personally.

-Well, she did mention it was about a case. And I think I heard "Top Priority" while she was talking with another officer.

-And what are we waiting for? We have to get there now… Maybe after we go get something to eat.

-SHAWN! – Gus shouted.

-FINE! – Shawn shouted back. – But don't get mad if I start getting impatient due to starvation. You have been warned.

Location: Santa Barbara Police Department.

Time: November, 15. 9:00

Shawn and Gus arrived half hour later to the station. The ride wouldn't take more than 10 minutes (15 if there was traffic), but something happened on their way that delayed them…

-I told you we shouldn't have stopped at that burger place that just opened. – Gus nagged to his friend.

-Ok, first of all Gus, that wasn't just "a burger place": that was Grilliam Shakespeare, a fast food chain with a high success rate that already has reputation in L.A. Second, I warned you that a hungry me would be less likeable than an angry Hulk. And number three…

-What's the number three?

-I don't know, but lists of three elements always sound better. – Shawn joked, which in turn made Gus sigh in disapproval of the joke. – Well, if it makes you feel better, we can always blame it on traffic.

-Call me crazy Shawn, but I don't think anyone will fall for such a lame excuse. – Replied Gus.

But before Shawn could reply in any way to his friend's doubts, they were greeted by an all-too familiar shout:

-SHAWN!

Even Gus stayed dead-cold in his place (even though the shout wasn't aimed at him). And just like that, a man came to them asking:

-What could take you guys so long to get here? – Henry Spencer asked.

Henry was now a retired officer who was hired once again to manage the outside consultants (mainly Shawn and the Psych agency).

-Traffic was insane out there! You should have seen that! – Shawn replied in a fake stressed tone.

-Oh, really? - *Busted!* Shawn and Gus thought. – Because I just got here myself, and I didn't see any kind of traffic out there.

-Well…

-And don't tell me something like "we were somewhere else" or "we had to take another route". You two were in your office, and I take the same route here that you do, and there was nothing wrong with it.

Shawn was definitely cornered this time.

-Told you. – Gus whispered with pride on his voice.

-Oh, shut up Gus! – Shawn whispered back annoyed.

Before any of them could think of a way to pull a comeback, Henry said:

-Never mind. The chief wants to see you in her office. Get your asses down there now.

And just as he came, he left. This in turn left the duo thinking about what just happened.

-Well, that was easy. – Shawn commented.

-Too easy, if you ask me. – Gus replied. – Whatever it is, it must be important if your dad skipped a chance to pull your ear.

-True, so let's see what our mission impossible is.

And they walked through the station for a while when something caught their attention: Buzz McNab, the friendliest cop in the whole building, was dragging a whole video-conference set to one of the meetings rooms. Once he was out of that room, Shawn and Gus decided to approach to their friend, curiosity getting the better off of them.

-Yo, Buzz! –Shawn called. – What's up, buddy?

-Oh, hey guys. I didn't know you were already here. – Buzz said.

-That's because we just got here. Don't worry about it. – Gus said.

-Well, now that we all said "Hello" and its variables to each other, what interesting task are you performing right now? – Shawn asked honestly.

-Well, I'm not supposed to tell anyone about it. But since you're going to be part of it anyway, I might as well give you a heads-up.

If Shawn wasn't interested already, he certainly was now that he knew this had something to do with the chief and her call.

-Cool. Come on, dude. We're talking, you're listening. - Shawn joked.

-Alright, so what do you want to know first?

-Well, first of all: what's up with all that equipment? – Gus asked.

-Oh, that? The chief is setting up a video-conference with another city. I think she said it would be with L.A.

-Los Angeles? What happened? – Shawn was the one asking now.

-I don't know. She's keeping this in a need-to-know basis, but it must be huge if she's treating it this way.

-Most likely. Anything else you have? – Gus asked.

-Nope. Sorry guys. She just told me to set up the equipment and to take you to her office as soon as I saw you here… Which is what I should be doing right now, now that I remember.

-Don't worry, Buzzy… Wow, that rhymes. We'll get there by ourselves and tell her we never saw you. We'd hate ourselves if you got in troubles for our fault. – Shawn said.

-Thanks guys. – Then another officer started calling for Buzz. – Oh, I got to go. I'm not even done yet. I'll see you later Shawn. Bye Gus.

And McNab left to finish his task, leaving Shawn and Gus alone to ponder on what they know until now.

-Alright, Gus. Quick recap: what do we know?

-Well, first of all, we're going to have a case. – Gus started.

-And there goes any chance for a paycheck. – Shawn complained.

-Second: – Gus continued while ignoring his friend. – It's top priority. The chief is keeping this in a small circle of people. And number three, it's a multi-state case. L.A. is also involved in whatever is happening.

-Now that we have everything clear, let's go see what we're missing. – Shawn said as he rushed to the office.

And without any delay, they both headed to the office of Chief Karen Vick. She's been the one in charge of most (if not all) of the cases Shawn and Gus take for the SBPD. She tends to be tough and reluctant to hire Psych, but her judgment is always fair and she believes in Shawn's capacity to solve a case while keeping him in check.

As soon as they saw the office's windows, they noticed other two people inside: detectives Carlton Lassiter and Juliet O'Hara. Lassiter was two kinds of detective in a single package: he was one of those "by the book" guys, and always kept a strict order in his work and in his life. Needless to say, Shawn and his "unconventional methods" annoyed him to no end, but he also had some degree of respect that the psychic earned from all of his cases (even if he wouldn't admit it). His other aspect was a less likeable one: a "happy trigger" officer. He certainly wouldn't shoot a suspect if it was already proved the person wasn't armed, but he's also the cop with the record of more shootings in the whole SBPD.

And then there's detective O'Hara: she's a friendly person (not like Buzz, though), but she could also be strict when necessary. While she's the most open-minded about Shawn and his "gift", she's also capable of scolding him when the psychic overdid it with his antics, or if he's obviously following a wrong lead. It's also worth to mention that they share one of those "complicated relationships", which at some point resulted in both kissing after stopping a killer… and they also had a witness to it.

Shawn wasted no time and opened the door, practically kicking it, and greeted everyone in the room:

-Hello, my fellow crime-fighters. What is it that requires the presence of my persona and that of my friend here!? – Shawn said in an overly-dramatic voice.

-Mr. Spencer. Glad you FINALLY joined us. – Said the chief stressing the "finally" part.

-It was an arduous trip from my – Gus slightly elbowed him - our headquarters to this location, so I must apologize for such an unexpected delay. – Shawn said, keeping the hero act.

There was a moment of silence until Lassiter snapped:

-Guster! What really happened? – Said the detective while glaring daggers at the Psych duo.

-Shawn forced me to drop at that new burger place. "Grilliam" something. – Gus panicked and told the truth.

-GUS! – Shawn yelled (or whined, depending on who you ask) at his friend. – First of all, it's not just a burger place. It's a business in progress, and I'm very supportive of those. And second… Really? You're selling me without getting anything in exchange?

-I am getting something.

-What could be so important that you turn against your best friend?

-Respect from my coworkers AND my life.

-Pfft. It's not like you're going to get killed for being late.

-Well, I'm not taking any chances.

And so, the two friends took their conversation to the point where it was just incomprehensible bickering, whispers and random sounds.

-Spencer!

-Gus!

Lassiter and O'Hara shouted respectively at the duo, stopping their gibberish.

-I was winning. – Shawn said.

-No, I was. – Gus answered back.

-Alright! Enough, both of you! – Chief Vick was obviously upset. – I don't have time to babysit any of you, so let's get to the point.

And before anyone could say anything, Shawn did a quick scan of the room. (**A/N: whenever you see this "He saw" moments, think of it as the moments when he's focusing on something.**)And then he saw… He saw that Vick's hand was over a file on her desk, always keeping at least a finger on it… He saw a line of dust under the base of the phone with the same shape of the device… He saw how Jules (as he called Juliet) was slightly shaking… He saw an old file over the metallic furniture in a corner, and one of the drawers was half-closed…

And instantly, he placed his middle finger at a side of his head and said:

-Wait! I'm getting something… We have a case.

-No kidding. – Lassiter remarked with a voice full of poison.

-Not only that. – Shawn proceeded without caring about the sarcasm. – This one is new, but it also involves something from our past. And I'm also getting that someone in this room isn't really fond of whatever it is. – Shawn decided to keep a little mystery on the issue about Jules. – And I also sense that you had to make a lot of phone calls, chief… Am I right or I'm right?

-I'd say you're right, but let's see what the audience says. – Gus said while sharing a bro-fist with Shawn.

-So... – Shawn continued. – A new case with elements from our past. What? Despereaux got out of prison again?

The police officers just stared at each other. This told both Shawn and Gus that something wasn't right.

-You two might want to have a seat. – Vick said with a dead-serious voice.

Shawn and Gus did what they were told to do without questioning.

-Here's the thing. – The chief started. – A couple of hours ago, we got a call from another city in California.

-Random guess time: L.A. – Shawn interrupted.

-Yes. Now shut up and listen, please, Mr. Spencer. – Vick responded to Shawn's interruption. – It was from the prosecution's office. One of their prosecutors is conducting a murder investigation and he told me that they had, in his own words: "Something your people should see".

Vick then handed Shawn the file that was on her desk and signaled him to open it.

-They faxed us a copy of the crime scene photos. At first, none of us had any idea what we were looking at, but then the last one came up, and it was all clear.

Shawn, however, didn't need to look further than the first photo: it was an aerial perspective of the crime scene, but he only saw one thing… He saw that the two victims, a Caucasian male and an African-American woman, had two stones placed in their chests. The man had a black one, and the woman's was painted white. They were placed in a position where his feet were next to her head and vice versa, and his mind made the mental picture of a symbol that indicated nothing but misery every time it showed up…

-Yin Yang. – It was the only thing he could say.

Jules shivered at the mention of this name. After all, it's not everyday stuff that a killer threatens to drop you from a clock tower.

-Exactly. – Chief Vick sighed. – One of the pieces of evidence was a card with nothing but the symbol on it. Given the fact that the police in L.A. is unrelated to this killer, they just pushed the card aside and moved on with the investigation. They found an ID from one of the construction employees that works at the crime scene and took him under custody.

-What happened next? I highly doubt it was over by just arresting someone, especially when that killer is involved. – Shawn said with a straight face. If there was something that could get him serious, it was the mention of Yin Yang.

-A few minutes after they started interrogating the suspect, the guy dropped a bomb over them… Literally. He said there was someone out there, and considering Yin Yang tends to be a two members killer team I'll believe it. He said his partner helped him plant bombs all over the city before being arrested. The local authorities refused to believe his threat, but the prosecutor I mentioned decided it was best not to take any chances and sent a K-9 unit to the train station the suspect provided to prove he wasn't bluffing.

-And I assume the dogs gave a positive response. – Gus said.

-Correct. There was a strong pipe bomb at the station. Luckily, the bomb was discovered before the station opened, so there were no civilians in danger and the device was successfully disabled. While the police was busy with the bomb or the interrogation, the prosecutor did a little research with the M.O. And since a killer duo using an eastern symbol as their flag isn't that hard to find, he found the reports about Yin Yang, Santa Barbara and Psych in just a few minutes of research. Right now we're collaborating with them in order to find this new Yin Yang as soon as possible.

-Which is why we have McNab setting up a video conference as we speak. – Lassiter interrupted. – We need to tell them what they're dealing with.

-And that is where we come into scene. – Shawn said. – After all, who's better to inform them about Yin Yang than the guy that caught the original version?

-You mean "the team that caught the original version", don't you? I was there, remember? – Gus said.

-Fine! What he said. The point is: if we want to figure out if this new Yin Yang is a copycat, a killer-wannabe, a clone or the same people but from another dimension, we have to start working on this. And no matter how much Lassie here would rather shoot me than to ask me for advice, I – Gus elbowed him. – WE are the ones that stopped them, so you need us.

Before Lassiter could complain about Shawn's comment (not that he hadn't considered shooting him before, but in a non-lethal area), the door was opened by none other than Buzz.

-Eh, chief. We're ready to go.

-Thank you, McNab. Go tell our friend that we're on our way.

And Buzz did as he was told. Shawn then asked a question that had been on his mind for a while, but was blocked due to the mention of Yin Yang:

-Excuse me, chief. – Shawn was raising his arm like a kid at school trying to answer the teacher's question. – Who is this prosecutor you're talking about? He sounds like a nice guy.

-I'll tell you two what you need to know on the way to the conference room. Let's go.

And just like that, everyone but Shawn and Gus left the office. After a few yawns and stretching their numbed limbs, they also left. They quickly caught up with the officers and, since Shawn wanted his answer (and was bored), he started to say random gibberish to kill time. It wasn't even five seconds into the randomness that Lassiter turned around and asked in a voice full of anger:

-Would you stop!? What do you want?

-Global peace, a full DVD collection of the Harry Potter movies and the answer to my previous question. – Shawn answered. – Pretty please?

-I think I can help you with the last one. – Said Jules. The team got back to walk while Juliet started to give Shawn the information he wanted. – The guy in L.A. is a prosecutor by the name of Miles Edgeworth.

-Wow. And here I was thinking Lassie had a pun-able name. – Shawn said and Lassiter growled.

-He's had a long career and he's also helped in several investigations, both local and internationally. – Jules continued.

-International? Like what? – Gus asked.

-Not much. Just a lot of murders, one which happened in the middle of an international flight. – Lassiter answered.

-Pfft. Murders? Him and several others around the world. – Shawn mocked.

-Well, there's also the fact that he uncovered an international smuggling ring, whose leader was an ambassador with diplomatic immunity. – Lassiter mocked back. – Now, tell me Spencer: do you know anyone else who's done something like that?

Shawn didn't answer, instead deciding to meditate about this "Edgeworth" guy. He wouldn't openly admit it, but he was impressed. The Psych duo decided to stay behind and process what they knew to this point since they already knew the location of the meeting, anyway. Breaking the silence, Gus said:

-I know what you're thinking.

-Oh, really? What number am I thinking on right now? – Shawn joked.

-Don't try to get off topic. I know you're impressed by what Lassiter said about the guy.

-The number was 23, by the way. – Shawn said.

-Fine. Don't say anything. I'll just assume you're giving me the reason with your evasions.

-Alright! – Shawn almost shouted. – Fine. The guy took down a smuggling ring.

-An International smuggling ring. – Gus remarked.

-Don't push it. – Shawn said. – Is it impressive? Yes. But we've also done things.

-Name one.

-That gun smuggling stuff at the military base, for example.

-Maybe, but we only solved that one because the army was on our side. Edgeworth had to trick the ambassador into letting him investigate his own territory.

-Gus, what side are you on?

-Justice… And whatever side that allows me to make fun of you.

-Thank you. That's why you're my best friend.

-You're welcome.

-And that's also the fact why you're last in the command chain. – Shawn said before leaving to the meeting room.

Gus picked up to his friend's pace and they reached the door before Gus could complain about that last comment. Shawn opened the door and they saw the same faces than the last time they got into a room, but with a new one showing on a big TV screen. The person had a young face that made him look no older than 20 (probably on his mid-20's to early-30's), but he also had a hair color that made him look older: some blend between black and gray. (**A/N: Yes, I know some will say I'm somewhat colorblind, but that's how I see it**). He was wearing a wine colored suit with a cravat on his neck instead of a tie (although Shawn saw it like a bib). The man decided to break the silence:

-Forgive my rudeness, but who might these two gentlemen be?

Shawn and Gus giggled at the mannerisms the man showed.

-Mr. Edgeworth, they're…

-Oh, don't worry, chief. We got this. – Shawn said between giggles. – Hi, my name is Shawn Spencer, psychic detective slash consultant for the SBPD slash hotdog connoisseur. And this here is my partner, Mr. Crazy McDodo, assistant slash pharmaceutical representative slash psychiatric patient part-time.

Edgeworth could only stare at Shawn after such an "interesting" introduction.

-I beg your pardon?

-Really, Shawn? – Gus asked annoyed. – What kind of name is that?

-Hey, you're the one who told me to call you crazy if the traffic excuse failed. I even gave you a last name to match. – Shawn joked.

-McDodo? Forget it. I'm not even going to bother arguing about this.

-I apologize for their behavior, Mr. Edgeworth. – The chief said. – Their names are Shawn Spencer and Burton Guster. They're the ones in charge of Psych and the ones who caught Yin Yang for the first time.

Edgeworth had his eyes closed while processing this information. Then he said:

-Ah, indeed. I remember now. They're the "psychic" and his partner. – Edgeworth said with a special emphasis on the word psychic. – I must admit that they're not what I had in mind when you described them, Miss Vick.

-Whoa, whoa. Go back there, Edgey. – Shawn interrupted. – What exactly did you "have in mind" about us?

-Well, first of all, I must admit that I'm a little skeptic about this "Psychic Detective" issue. And second, when the chief Vick described you, I assumed you would be a little more serious about an old enemy showing up again in a different city, Mr. Spencer… And please, refrain from calling me "Edgey". I already have enough of that here.

-Well, EDGEY. – Shawn said the nickname loudly just to mess with the prosecutor. – This is the attitude I used to tear apart Yin Yang the first time, so I'll stick to my proven method, thank you very much. And why hating on my profession so much, dude? I don't go around saying bad stuff about prosecutors.

-Well, you kind of did once. – Gus interrupted.

-We were working with the defense. It was our duty, Gus, so it doesn't count. – Shawn answered. – Anyway, Y U no believe in little ol' me?

Yes, the way you see it, Shawn said. Edgeworth opted to ignore the man's antics and answered:

-I'm a man of science, Mr. Spencer…

-Call me Shawn. Not only is my dad the only one who gets to be called Mr. Spencer, but it also makes me feel old.

-Shawn… I don't believe in such fairy tales like a psychic that can see everything that happens in the universe. And as a prosecutor, there's only one voice I listen to, and that is the voice of evidence.

Shawn looked at the screen for a while before turning to see Gus with a smirk on his face.

-Well, look at that. The man wants evidence.

-Hey! I say we should give it to him. – Gus said while approaching to his friend.

-Why not? It's always good to show someone how the magic works… Wait, did he just call me a fairy tale? – Shawn said when he finally realized what the prosecutor said earlier.

-I think he did. Can't say I blame him, though. – Lassiter said with a grin on his face. He was having a nice time at Edgeworth mocking Shawn.

-Alrighty, then. You want evidence? I got your evidence… But first, would you mind taking a few steps back? – Shawn said.

-I assume you will attempt to perform one of those "psychic readings", or whatever they're called on my person. – Edgeworth guessed. – While I am willing to let you prove yourself, Mr. Spencer, I see no reason for me to step back.

-Well, here are two reasons: Number one – Shawn said while lifting a finger – I'm going to do it while the person is not only in another city, but also surrounded by electrical equipment. Distance and interference are two of the worst enemies for a psychic.

This, of course, was a lie. In fact, Shawn couldn't analyze Edgeworth properly if he was so close to the camera, therefore not giving him a full view of the prosecutor.

-And what would be the second reason, Mr. Spencer?

-Well, I can't find a nice way to say it, so I'll just say it as it is… That bib you're wearing is making me feel hungry every time I look at it. – Shawn joked.

Edgeworth made his typical "you've got to be kidding me!" face at the psychic's comment. Nonetheless, he did as he was asked and moved away from the camera, giving Shawn a full glance of the prosecutor.

-There you go, Mr. Spencer… And this "bib", as you call it, is called Cravat, for your information.

Shawn wasted no time, and started scanning the young prosecutor for any leads about him. Then he saw… He saw that there was no wrinkle, crease or any kind of imperfection in his suit, except some kind of napkin hanging from his pocket… He saw a picture in the man's desk: it had a younger Miles Edgeworth and a little girl, no older than 13. The girl's hair was colored in a mixture of blue and silver, and her eye color didn't match those of Edgeworth. Her dressing had a European look, and she was also carrying a riding crop… He saw a set of reading glasses, but Edgeworth didn't seem to have any trouble reading. In fact, he was apparently going over a file while Shawn was doing his analysis. Focusing on the glasses, he noticed two letters engraved at a side of the glasses: a G and an E.

Shawn took a few moments to place the pieces in order and get a clear idea of what kind of life the prosecutor has had to this point. When he was done, however, he didn't place a finger at each side of his head as usual. Instead, he pointed at Edgeworth and shouted:

-GOTCHA!

Everyone had a good scare at this outburst, especially Gus since he was right next to Shawn and took the full scream to his ears. After everyone managed to calm down, Lassiter was the first to talk… Well, more like counter-shout:

-What the hell, Spencer!? What's the big idea!?

Shawn dropped his hand and looked at Lassie:

-Well, I just wanted to test a new routine to present a vision. I thought "why not now?"… Well, that and the fact that I can't control how they come to me. They just do.

Before Lassiter could say anything, Edgeworth interrupted:

-Please, detective Lassiter. There is no need to make such a fuss about Mr. Spencer and his… Antics.

-Antics? – Shawn and Gus said at the same time.

-Moving on, Mr. Spencer. – Edgeworth continued. – I assume you are done with your procedure, so I'd like to hear what you have to say about my person… That is, if you're really what you claim to be.

Shawn just crossed his arms and said:

-Challenge accepted! Gus, get me my shades.

-You don't have any shades, Shawn. – Gus answered.

-Wut? How am I supposed to look awesome if I don't have any shades?

-You left them at the office because you said, and I quote: "Why would I need them?"

-No, I didn't.

-Yes, you did.

And the incomprehensible bickering started again. Edgeworth cleared his throat to get their attention, and Shawn immediately went from bickering to regular speech:

-Alright, Edgey. Here's what I have… - Shawn made a pause to recall what he saw, and then he made his usual pose with one finger on his left temple. – You are a perfectionist. Or at least you used to be, but you are currently trying to somewhat drop that habit. You still consider etiquette and other formalities as essential in your life, but you also know that perfection is either impossible or unnecessary.

Shawn was right about this one: Edgeworth had been mentored by a perfectionist known as Manfred von Karma, but considering the kind of things he was willing to do in order to keep that perfection, Edgeworth preferred to avoid that path.

-You are correct, Mr. Spencer… However, that doesn't prove anything. That kind of descriptions could be figured out during the time we've been interacting, so you're going to need to do something better than that to impress me.

-Well, I'm just getting started, Edgey. – Shawn said and went back into focused mode. – Next: you were adopted by a European family, from Germany, to be more accurate. Your foster family includes the only familiar you're still in contact with: a younger sister. And as an extra tip about her, she's really fond of… Riding crops, whips and any other object that can be used to hit a person that is not considered blunt, just subtle objects.

Everyone was slightly impressed at how accurate Shawn's description was… And at how a woman could have such a hobby without her being a fan of S&M. However, Shawn was once again right, but Edgeworth wasn't one to be easily impressed.

-Well, I must admit that was quite detailed, Mr. Spencer. But anyone could perform a background check on me, and get that same information. Even the details about my sister… And no, she doesn't like that kind of things, for those of you who might misinterpret this!

Everyone noticed how defensive Edgeworth was as soon as his sister came into the conversation, so the topic was dropped. Shawn, while deciding to leave him alone about it, wasn't done impressing the prosecutor.

-Fine! This one will surely make you think better about me. – Shawn said before getting ready to amaze the audience. – Here's the last trivia about you: your father's name was Gregory Edgeworth.

Now the prosecutor was impressed: being a perfectionist could be deduced, his time with the von Karma family could be investigated, but all the reports about Gregory Edgeworth were still on paper. Not only that, but the files about him were all stored at several locations around L.A. Newspapers were kept by either the police or the editorials that produced them, files about his cases were kept by the son himself, and reports about his untimely demise were under police custody, Edgeworth's, or kept by the spiky-haired attorney that solved the case. Edgeworth was definitely impressed, but Shawn wasn't quite done yet.

-I can tell you more, but I know you don't want to talk about it. I can tell you this, though: there's a reason why you were adopted.

The young prosecutor had been figured out by a man in another city… He was defeated, out of court no less. He would have tried to figure out how Shawn knew all of this, but there was a bigger threat to face.

-Very well, Mr. Spencer. – Edgeworth said. – You have proven yourself, so let's move on with the case.

-YUS! – Shawn shouted. – God, it feels good to show someone the way I roll! High-five, Gus!

After a quick high-five, Edgeworth proceeded:

-As you might already know, there's been a double homicide that fits with the M.O. of Yin Yang. The bodies were placed in a position that, from the right angle, represented their symbol. Not only that, but we also found a card with that same symbol at the crime scene.

-Which is what brought your attention to Santa Barbara, I assume. – Jules concluded.

-Indeed. The victims had each one cut on their throats, which seems to be the cause of death at first glance. An autopsy is yet to be performed, but we have identified the victims: his name is Adam Barton and hers is Eve Morse. They're a couple resident of the city, and I'm inclined to believe that, other than the sick game with the colors, these people were randomly picked from the public.

-Where is the crime scene? There's nothing on the reports about it. – Lassiter asked. He was holding a copy of the case file.

-The bodies were discovered at the construction site for a company known as – Edgeworth glanced at the file to read the name – "Waltz Light Company". It's a local industry dedicated to provide electricity to most of the city. They're currently expanding their facilities and performing routine maintenance. I decided to skip that from my report since, being a local business, Santa Barbara is most likely unaware of its existence.

-It certainly doesn't ring a bell to me. – Shawn said.

-One of the last things you should know before this meeting concludes – Edgeworth continued – is that we found an ID at the crime scene. It belonged to one of the workers of the construction, part of the maintenance team, to be more accurate. His name is Frank Lincoln and he's currently under custody.

-Wait a second, Mr. Edgeworth. – Gus interrupted. – If he's part of the crew, why is he under custody? Maybe he just dropped it the day before.

-I would be inclined to believe that as well, Mr. Guster. But there's a little problem with that theory… Mr. Lincoln had requested a one-week long Leave of Absence two days before the discovery, and he still had his ID with him. I verified this, and presenting it is one of the requirements for the kind of request the suspect did.

Everyone at Santa Barbara acknowledged this theory as valid to consider someone a suspect. But Shawn still had another doubt in his mind, and he had a slight idea of the answer for it.

-So, Edgey. Let me get this straight: you're telling me that you guys have a murder that matches some of the insanity we have here, and that you already have someone to blame for it. What I don't get is this: are you just calling to let us know about this and brag a little, or am I missing something?

Everyone glared at Shawn as if he had just insinuated that the "Nolan verse" version of Batman sucked. Edgeworth shrugged it off and answered:

-No, Mr. Spencer. I, for one, don't believe in such unnecessary rituals like bragging about my achievements to anyone. And as for the reason of my call, we have a situation here. But I'll let chief Vick to inform you about it. I have my hands full here, and I must leave you. Officers, Mr. Spencer, Mr. Guster. – Edgeworth bowed politely at the screen. – It has been a pleasure.

Before the screen went off and the call finished, there was a loud "Ha!" at the side of Santa Barbara. As it turns out, Shawn and Gus were laughing at Edgeworth and his mannerisms. They were interrupted, however, by a certain happy-trigger detective… Fortunately, no gunshots were involved, just shouting.

-WOULD YOU GUYS STOP IT!?

-Oh, come on, Lassie! – Shawn said while he and Gus were catching their breaths. – You can't deny that was funny. I mean, come on. The guy bowed to complete strangers!

-First of all, Spencer, – Lassiter growled – he was being polite. And second…

-We have a case to solve, so shut up. And I mean all three of you. – Vick completed the list.

Everyone in the room turned to look at the chief and kept quiet during her report.

-As you might remember, I mentioned the discovery of an explosive device at a train station. – Everyone nodded to confirm their knowledge about it. – Well, it turns out that the suspect has a partner out there, and that person is willing to detonate the bombs if we don't go to L.A. Apparently, this is another challenge for us, and we have to stop this new Yin Yang before we have any casualties from civilians.

-Cool! – Shawn interrupted. – We get to visit L.A. I'll go get my camera and my autograph's book!

-Shawn! – This time, it was the turn of Juliet to scold him. – This isn't a vacation, remember?

-I know, Jules. Innocents at risk, new Yin Yang threat, rada rada. But I really need to go somewhere else before we head there.

-And what would be so important that you need to delay such an important issue, Spencer? – Lassiter asked.

-My toothbrush. Oral hygiene is top priority, after all. – This joke earned Shawn a lot of glares. – Fine! It may not be, but Gus and I really need to pack up our stuff if we're going to stay there to investigate.

-Spencer is right. – The chief said before Lassiter could complain about anything. – Since you're all going to stay for a while in the city, you need to pack up for your stance. – She then checked her watch. – It's 10:00 a.m. L.A. is one hour away driving. Go get your luggage, and I want you all here at 11 o' clock. – One last glare at Shawn while she said: - No delays, Mr. Spencer.

-I can't promise anything. – Shawn joked and left the room before anything else happened, with Gus following closely.

When they got to the car, Gus got curious and asked:

-Why did we leave just like that?

-Because, my buddy, we're going to take a little detour. – Shawn answered.

-No, Shawn! You heard the chief. No delays.

-And I would agree with you, but this isn't a delay. – Shawn just took the keys from Gus' hand and started the car. – It's a must. I'll tell you on the way to your place.

-What about you? Aren't you going to pack anything?

-Already did it. – Shawn answered like it was nothing. – I always have an emergency backpack for cases out of the town, or camping sessions while I wait in line for the first tickets in a premiere.

Gus just stared at his friend.

-Why would you… Never mind. I don't want to know.

Gus just took off to his house, not knowing that their next stop would be even more decisive than Shawn made it sound like…

Location: Santa Barbara Memorial, Kharma wing.

Time: November, 15. 10:20

The Santa Barbara Memorial was one of the most used hospitals in the whole city. People dropped by every day for the usual checkup, different tests, some minor procedures and, if the day was active, major surgeries. It had been made to fulfill several purposes for the residents of Santa Barbara… And as such, it had its own psychiatric wing. The patients in this section ranged from the typical couple with small issues in their relationship and kids that were considered "special" in several ways, to people (if they could still be called like that) with a varying degree of insanity. And amongst these patients, there was a certain woman that had the most problems in the whole area.

Shawn and Gus were heading her way, one of the nurses guiding them. In the meantime, they were having a discussion that covered several topics at once…

-I still can't believe you actually had stuff prepared beforehand. – Gus said.

-Told you. – Shawn said in a mocking tone. – Ah, that phrase never gets old.

Once they had packed up their stuff (well, Gus packed and Shawn just took a backpack he already had full of all the stuff he would need from his house), Shawn explained his friend the plan to visit a certain person for further information.

-Tell me again: what's the point of visiting her again? It's not like she would actually know about a case out of the city.

-Maybe, but remember, G-force. – Shawn started. – Even if she never actually killed anyone, she was still Yin's right hand. If the couple at L.A. is the heir to their legacy, she'll know.

-Still, I don't trust her. If you feel like getting inside her room, you're on your own… Plus, you heard the doctors that time. She gets violent when exposed to colors.

-Don't worry, dude. It's bullet-proof glass. – He knocked on a random door to prove his point. Luckily, whatever patient was supposed to be there, it wasn't. – She can't break out of it.

Before Gus could complain about their current situation, the nurse cleared her throat. They were in front of her glass prison.

This is (or was) Yang, one of the original members of the killer duo. Her and her father, Yin, had committed a series of killings as part of Yin's twisted game. Yang, however, not only never killed anyone herself other than her father to stop the madness, but also wished for a normal life, with a loving family just like Shawn's. After stopping Yin and her new apprentice, Yang decided to pay for the Yin Yang killings. The only reason why she did this was a simple, yet heart-breaking one: it was all she knew, so she sticks to it. Yang was just sitting there, looking at the ground until a well-known voice snapped her out of whatever trance she was on…

-Honey! I'm home!

Yang turned her head to look at Shawn, and her face shifted from one that lacked emotions, to one resembling a child that just got his/her favorite toy for Christmas.

-Why, hello there, Shawny!

Yang didn't move from her seat. She just remained there, observing Shawn (and Gus, but to a lesser extent) with interest. Other than being glad to have her favorite psychic in the nut house, she had a question in mind.

-Well, well… What brings Mr. Psychic and Dr. "I have so many names I barely remember my own" to the asylum?

-Hey! – Gus protested.

-You see, I was thinking about getting the Joker's autograph, but it turns out that he's not in this mental facility. – Shawn joked.

-That, and the fact that he's a fictional character. – Gus said.

-That too. – Shawn said and then continued. – So instead, we decided to visit our second favorite patient.

-Patient, indeed. – Yang said. Then she proceeded without moving an inch. – I was wondering if you would ever visit little old me. This place is boring as hell.

-Tell me about it. That nurse took away my candies when we got here saying "It may get the patients hyper active and make them hurt you". It's not like I wasn't planning to share, or anything.

-You weren't. – Gus mocked.

-Yes, I was.

-No.

Before the gibberish started, Yang said:

-I just had a burger, you know. I had a sudden urge to have one. Hawaiian, because pineapples.

-Random comment for the sake of randomness? Cool! My turn. – Shawn made a brief pause. – Have you ever been to L.A?

As soon as the woman heard the name, she got up from her seat, the playful smile still on her face. She walked closer to the glass wall.

-Actually, I haven't. What do you know about it?

-I haven't been there, either. I've heard it's a nice place, though: Hollywood, famous people living there, sunny days with a cool temperature… - Gus elbowed him and pointed to his watch. It was 10:30, so they were running out of time. Shawn decided to move on to the main topic. – And there's also the people dying by folks with your same methods. Does it ring a bell?

The smile never left her face, but the look on her eyes indicated that she was in serious business mode.

-Well, in fact, it does. And I think you and Magic Head over there already have an idea of why.

Despite the name, she was right. Shawn knew what was happening, and he explained it to Gus on their way to the hospital.

-So this new Yin Yang is the real deal? Not just someone craving for attention, a copycat or your clones? – Shawn said half-joking (and if you don't know which one is the joke part, you should file your admission into the Kharma wing).

-Let me put it this way: ever wondered what daddy and I were doing while hiding? - Said the psychiatric patient.

-Actually, I didn't. Considering I never heard of you before you two challenged me, I could only focus in one fact: - Shawn raised his hand for a high-five with Gus - Winning! - And the duo connected palms.

-Well, let me put it this way: you actually think that poor little girl he "kidnapped" - and she said this word with a mocking tone - was his only apprentice?

None of the Psych members said anything, indicating Yang to move on with her explanation.

-As you know, all dem killings and cat-and-mouse games were his way to prove his intellectual superiority. He was like Batman in the way that he wanted to be "a symbol". Something that everyone would respect… and fear. And as such, he knew that two people, him and me, were not enough to fulfill that goal. Then, just like Jigsaw, he started to recruit.

-Pfft. How original. – Shawn commented.

-Yeah, he always lacked originality for anything that wasn't a game. – Yang continued. – Where he got the idea? Beats me, but he liked it. Every time we went into hiding, he was always looking for young people to mold at his image… Or twist, depending on who you ask.

-And one of them is in L.A, right? – Gus asked.

-Golden star for the smart one! You catch up quickly, Gussie! – Yang shouted. Then she went back to being serious. – Indeed. The guy loved the city of Angels.

-Can you blame him? – Shawn said. Yang just moved on like nothing.

-Not really. He always thought that taking down one of those super stars would make him one… He wasn't counting with the awesomeness of security systems they have, though. Either that, or make one of them a student.

-And what do you know about the people over there? – Gus asked.

-Trained at distance, but a face-to-face class every time we had to leave. Other than that and their hat size, I got nothing. He always took care of that kind of things all by himself.

-You don't remember their names, do you? – Shawn taunted, hoping to get more from her.

-That, and the fact that telling you would take away all the fun. Don't you agree?

Shawn determined that this was the most he was going to get out of Yang, so he decided it was time to leave… But not without one last question.

-Why are you making this so easy? Usually, you'd give me a puzzle in the shape of a sketch, and disguised as a book. – Shawn said referencing the time that Yin took Juliet and his ex-girlfriend hostages.

-Three reasons, actually: first of all, I'm done with games and puzzles if it's not for my own amusement. Playing with you at this point would be like tagging along with his game even after he's gone. But that doesn't mean I want to make it too easy for you.

-Ok. Second?

-We are in the Kharma wing, remember? Maybe that mystical concept of "do good things and good things will happen to you" is more effective in this building… Then again, I might just be in a good mood, or I just got a little bit more out of touch with reality. I am talking about a fictional concept like it was real, after all.

-My money is in your lack of sanity. – Shawn said. – And what would be number three?

-Because…

There was a brief silence before Shawn realized that she was done talking.

-Well, it's been a pleasure. Now, if you excuse us, we have to go catch your foster relatives. But don't worry; I'll make sure to get you a nice souvenir from there. This place needs some serious decoration.

Shawn the turned to the exit with Gus right behind him. Before they were out of sight, though, Yang made one last comment:

-Remember, Shawn. It's us, but not really us. Keep that in mind.

Shawn just stood there when Yang said this. After he was done processing her tip, he walked away. Once they were out of sight and curiosity got the better off of Gus, he asked:

-What does she mean by that? "Us, but not us", I mean.

-Like John Kramer and Amanda Young, Gus. – Shawn answered. – He trained her, but she played the game her own way. It's exactly the same: Yin made the folks in L.A. But they're going to use their own methods. Knowing the vanilla version gives us a starting point, but we have to figure out the rest.

-Then there's only one place to go…

-Couldn't have said that better myself… Well, maybe I could but I don't want to steal your spotlight.

-You've been doing that all day.

-Want me to do it again?

-Point taken.

And they climbed back to the blueberry. They had a city to visit, a killer to catch… And a lot of autographs to ask.

**A/N: Wow. Two follows and one favorite? You guys are crazy… The good kind of crazy. The kind that keeps me motivated to write this thing. As usual, thanks for taking the time to read this stuff, and I'd like to apologize for the time it took me to write this thing. The whole "Christmas/End of the World/New Year/Family Party" issue kept me away from the computer (doesn't help the fact that I have a little ADD, though).**

**Next chapter might take a while too. Why? We get into serious business: Investigation time! :D This story is being made from scratch, with little to no planning beforehand. Not only that, but I also have to build a Court Record, get some OCs for the role of witness, and pretty much build a case for Psych and our favorite spiky-haired attorney.**

**And so, without anything else to add, feel free to like, comment and subscribe… No, wait, that's for YouTube. Review, follow, recommend this to your friends and whatever Fanfiction allows you to do… Oh, and I hid a few references to comics and other stuff up there for you, lovers of the Easter Eggs. You know who you are :)**

**By recommendation of my lawyer (while he was beating da Hulk in UMvC3), I remind you that none of the content of this fic belongs to me. Everything belongs to their respective owners except for the plot (and even that one isn't so original), a few OCs and the whipping I might get from Franzy for every time I fail to post this disclaimer. Now go and do whatever you want with this fic, play videogames, watch a movie, kiss your girlfriend/boyfriend or wife/husband, and flames will be used to power up my recently-dominated Flame loop. Have a nice day, people of the internets.**


	3. The enemy of my enemy is a hedgehog?

The Psychic Turnabout

Chapter 3: The enemy of my enemy is a hedgehog?

Location: Los Angeles Police Department

Time: November, 15. 13:00

The trip from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles was long, yet easy at the same time. Luckily for the detectives and the Psych team, the ways between each state were almost completely deserted (beyond the fact that they were in the middle of a desert). Even with the slight delays of the inter-state booths (which the police avoided to pay by showing their badges, but Gus wasn't so lucky), it took no longer than two hours to get to their destination (A/N: I might be wrong about the time it takes from one state to the other, but it's a fanfic. Screw logic XD). The travel was mostly uneventful, except for a little conversation between the members of Psych…

30 minutes ago.

-You know, there's something that's been bothering me for a while. – Gus said without looking away from the road.

-No, Gus. I did not cheat during our Halo session. I was bored one day, and thought about dominating the art of playing with the control behind my back. – Shawn guessed about the topic his friend was talking about.

-Ok. First of all, that's not an art. It's just a dumb gaming skill. Second, that's not what I'm talking about.

-Well, I'll try again. – Shawn "meditated" about it for a few seconds. – I got nothing.

-How did you know the name of Edgeworth's father?

-What can I say? I saw the glasses with the letters "G" and "E" embedded on them. People only do that to mark their property, so I knew the E stands for "Edgeworth". Our British-wannabe friend's first name is Miles, so I knew those didn't belong to him, yet he had them for a reason. I assumed it was his father, since glasses aren't the usual object you keep from anyone closer to you than that, and I just used one of the most popular names that start with a G.

-That makes sense. – Gus admitted. – However, Gregory isn't one of the most used names with G, nor the most simple of them. You chose that name for a reason, so what was it?

-I watched a marathon of "House" a few days ago. Does that count?

-Fine. Don't tell me. But I can call your dad right now, tell him where the hidden key to the office is, and ask him to hide your Xbox. – Gus threatened, hoping to get his friend to talk.

-You wouldn't! – Shawn was officially scared.

Gus didn't say anything. Instead, he pulled out his phone from his pocket and started to dial a number that Shawn knew all-too-well. The pseudo psychic eventually surrendered.

-Fine! Party pooper… Remember that one time when my dad was transferred to L.A?

-How could I forget it? You had to stay in my house for almost a month while he was gone, and your mother was in a business trip.

-Good. Now, during his stay, which was part of a new, but failed, training program, my dad was involved in the investigation of a murder case in a courthouse during an earthquake. The victim, his son, and his alleged killer were all trapped inside an elevator for quite an amount of time. The perpetrator, back then a court officer, had a panic attack and started to fight with the victim, and all hell was unleashed in that little space… Not like in the movie "Devil" from M. Night Shyamalan, but it was still bad.

-What happened? And how is that connected to Edgeworth and his… - By now, Gus had a good idea of what was the point of this story, but he decided to let Shawn confirm his theories.

-I think you already figured it out, but I'll move on… After the power of the building was restored, the rescue units headed to the next stop of that elevator. When they reached the floor it was headed to, they found the victim with a single shot to the chest, and the other two occupants were K.O. due to lack of oxygen. That day, little Miles Edgeworth lost his father. A defense attorney by the name of Gregory.

Silence took over the blue car for the rest of the ride... Well, ignoring a few jokes and whining from Shawn.

Back to the present.

The detective's car and the blueberry parked at the public parking lot next to the station. The second the Psych-mobile (yes, another nickname for the blueberry) stopped moving, Shawn came out of the car as if there was a bomb inside of it. He almost kissed the floor, but his logic engine kicked in and told him not to for sanitary reasons. He got back on his feet and scanned the area around him by spinning around slowly. Once he had made a 360° turn, he lifted both of his arms and shouted:

-Ya ta! Allo, L.A!

When Gus came out of the blueberry, he just stared at Shawn with a typical "What the hell!?" look. If the stare failed to send the message, no one would ever find out since he actually said the phrase:

-What the hell, Shawn!?

Shawn just turned around to look at his partner.

-What? I've always wanted to do that! And I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who laughed at that scene.

-Yeah, but I'm not crazy enough to shout in pseudo-Japanese.

While the Psych duo was arguing, the Santa Barbara detectives got out of their car and walked to the entrance of the station. When they passed next to the bickering team, Lassiter said:

-If you two, ladies, are done pulling each other's hair, we have a killer to catch.

Lassiter and O'Hara just moved on like nothing. The mood for a dumb argument broken, Shawn and Gus followed them into the building.

The inside of the LAPD wasn't so different than the one at Santa Barbara: a lot of desks with computers and filling cabinets, the only difference being the way they were arranged. When Shawn and Gus managed to catch up with Lassiter and O'Hara, the detectives were talking with a man in a green, dusty coat. When they approached to break into the conversation, a certain voice with a European accent called from the distance.

-Greetings, detectives. I hope your travel was calm and easy.

-Meh. I've had worst. – Lassiter said, delicate as usual.

-We're fine. Thank you for asking, Mr. Edgeworth. – Jules quickly added.

-I'm glad to hear that. Now, if you follow me, I will take you to see the prime suspect of this crime.

A few giggles were heard behind the Santa Barbara agents. Edgeworth decided to ignore Shawn's childish behavior and started to walk through the building. Right before they entered the area for questioning, however, he turned back to speak:

-Right behind this door is the questioning section of the building, and our suspect, Frank Lincoln, is being held in one of the interrogation rooms. Room number 12, to be accurate. However, we can't access that room for the time being.

-Why not? That guy has vital information about whoever is out there, threatening to blow up your city! – Lassiter asked.

-Which is exactly why we can't get in there, detective Lassiter. The suspect asked, among other things, for a defense attorney to represent him during the trial. Due to the attorney-client privilege, we can't get in that room.

-So what's this about "other things" you're talking about, Edgey? – Shawn asked.

-I'm glad that you mention it, Mr. Spencer, because this is exactly where you and Mr. Guster come into play.

Everyone turned to look at the Psych team, while they just stared at each other. After they were all done processing this news, Gumshoe was the first to break the silence:

-Well, at least you guys are used to this kind of things, right pal? This should be really easy for you.

-Really? You think dealing with nut cases and serial killers is easy? – Lassiter was annoyed with how naïve Gumshoe was.

-No! I mean, it gets easier with time and practice, doesn't it?

-It doesn't, Gumshoe. – Juliet simply answered. While just as annoyed as Lassie, she was more polite about it.

-C-c-c-combo breaker! – Shawn shouted to stop Gumshoe from embarrassing himself even more. – Now that I have your attention, what are we supposed to do, Edgey?

-Very simple, actually. Mr. Lincoln requested your presence before any police officer could interrogate him. All you have to do is get in there, ask him what he wants, get the deactivation code for the bombs along with their location, and get out. Then, we can begin the investigation to find his partner.

-Then why are we still here? Let's get in there.

-HOLD IT!

Shawn and Gus froze in place by Edgeworth's command.

-What now? – The duo asked.

-Before you two get in there, there's something I need to tell you first.

-Which is…?

-The lawyer in there is someone I know quite well. Depending on what Frank told him and what he found out by himself, he might be of assistance. Make sure to assist him in any way you can.

-The prosecution helping a defense attorney? That's a new one where we came from. – Shawn said in all honesty, but still making it sound as a joke.

-In the end, Mr. Spencer, our goal is the same: make sure justice is done and protect the innocent.

Before Shawn could say anything, Gus covered his mouth and dragged him through the door. Once they were a safe distance away, Shawn talked:

-What was that for?

-First of all, we're wasting time. And second, that comment was really deep, and I didn't want you to ruin the moment. – Gus answered.

-Is that a tear I see in your eye?

-No, it's not!

-Yes, it is!

And that argument continued until they reached the designated room. Sharing one last stare to each other, they simply nodded and went into the room.

-Honey! I'm home!

Everyone turned to the door and saw the Psych team doing an overly-dramatic entrance.

*That is officially the greatest exhibition of randomness I've ever seen* Thought one Phoenix Wright about the "interesting" entrance he had just witnessed. His logic engine and survival instinct kicking in, he asked:

-Excuse me, but who are you? And what are you doing here?

Before answering, Shawn analyzed the room quickly. He didn't get much, but he saw… He saw the symbol on the man's blue suit. He knew it was one of those badges every attorney gets in L.A. (he did his homework before reaching the city, and discovered the badges while studying Edgeworth), and the design told him the guy was a defense attorney. Most likely the one Edgeworth mentioned… He saw the clothes of the girl next to the lawyer. He knew the design was Japanese-inspired, but she didn't have many traits from the country. Probably a descendant from a family that moved to the US. Once he was done, he introduced himself and Gus in the most extravagant way he could improvise:

-Well, I'm glad you asked, sir. My name, given to me by my creators, is Shawn Spencer. This fine person next to me is known as the T-800. But don't worry; he's from the second Terminator movie, so he's friendly.

-I'm here to help. – Gus said in a robotic-like voice.

-Funny. You don't look like an Austrian actor or a former governor. – Maya said, finding the introduction quite funny.

-He's a new model. The prototype for the future reboot of the franchise, to be accurate. – Shawn answered, glad that someone finally tagged along with his intros.

Phoenix, however, was deep in thought to interrupt the weirdness. *Shawn Spencer? Why does that ring a bell? I've heard that name before. The key must be…* And then it hit him. This man was the KEY to one of Frank's Psyche-Locks. He turned just in time to see the Psyche-Lock breaking, and then Frank said:

-So… Shawn Spencer? You're not what I had in mind when I heard about a "Psychic detective"

-That is the second time I get that one OR a variation of it today. How is a psychic detective supposed to look like, anyway?

-I don't know, but apparently, you're not doing it right. – Gus said in his regular voice since introductions were over.

-I don't get it. It's not like there are many of us out there and yet people want us to have a specific look? Is it just me, or that logic has more holes in it than the Titanic after the iceberg?

-Sorry, sir. I don't even know what to expect anymore. – Frank said.

-Well, first of all…

-OBJECTION!

Everyone turned to look at the source of the shout, namely one Phoenix Wright who had lost track of the conversation.

-Ok. What is going on? Who are you? And most of all: what are you two doing here?

-Party pooper. – Shawn said. – Fine! I'll give you the quick version… I'm Shawn, this is Gus. I'm a psychic detective, which our friend over there knew already even thought I just mentioned it, and he's my assistant.

-Partner. – Gus corrected.

-Partner. And as for why we're here, it's simple: to get some autographs from many celebrities all over L.A.

-And catch a few killers. – Gus added.

-That too. But mostly the signatures.

The room was quiet for a few more minutes, until Frank broke the silence:

-Well, now that you're here, we can move on.

Frank then went for his jacket and pulled out another tape, this one labeled "Psych". Frank placed it on the table before explaining:

-I'm supposed to give this one to you. You can ask Mr. Wright for the audio player he used.

A giggle was heard in the room.

-Psych? What kind of name is that? – Maya said.

-That happens to be the name of our agency, miss… Did I miss your names? – Shawn said.

-Oh! Sorry about that, but it does sounds kinda funny. – Maya apologized. – And no, we haven't introduced ourselves. My name is Maya Fey.

-And I'm Phoenix Wright. Pleased to meet you. – Phoenix stretched his hand to the Psych team.

-Phoenix? Now there's a name worth a few giggles. – Shawn said and took Phoenix' hand.

*If it's not the hair, everyone makes fun of my name. At least he didn't make a pun with…* His train of thought was interrupted by Gus.

-Shawn! You shouldn't use a person's name for your jokes… Right, Mr. Wright? – Gus couldn't hold back the laugh from making such an easy pun.

*Why do I even bother?*

-Jokes aside, let's see what this tape has inside for us. – Shawn said.

Phoenix gave the player to Shawn, and he immediately put the tape in place. At first there was only static, but then a voice started to talk:

-Hello, Shawn and Gus… I want to play a game.

Shawn paused the tape with a disappointed look on his face.

-Saw? Really? First the Hitchcock event, and now Jigsaw? Come on, now!

-Told you it was from a movie. – Maya whispered to Phoenix.

-Anyway… Let's see what else this new guy is going to rip off.

Shawn started the tape again to hear the message. The voice told him about Frank's situation, his kidnapped family, and how he wasn't allowed to tell the police or the prosecution anything about it. Once he managed to process everything, all he had to say was:

-I am highly disappointed. If this is a tribute to the original Yin-Yang, it's really sad they still look up to them. If not, they're not creative. Gus, am I right or what?

-Shawn! This is serious. If we do a wrong move...

-Relax! I know. That's exactly why we have to stay calm, investigate carefully, and most of all, make sure we don't screw things up.

-And you think joking around is the best idea!?

Everyone turned to see one upset Phoenix Wright. Before things escalated, however, he was stopped by his own assistant:

-Nick, look. You know I always support you because most of the time what you do works...

-But?

-But Shawn does have a point. If we don't treat this carefully, this Yin-Yang could kill Frank's family without giving it a second thought. You need to keep calm... You know. Like those meme posters say.

Phoenix just stood there, thinking about what Maya said and the validity of her argument. *She's right* Was his conclusion.

-Plus... - She said before taking Phoenix away for a private discussion. - You saw the Psyche-Lock. If he is that important, we should tag along with him.

*And once again, she's the voice of reason... Did we just switch roles, or something?* He thought.

-You're right. Let's see what happens. - Phoenix gave in.

The Wright & Co. team finished their private meeting and went to the Psych team.

-Alright, Shawn. You have experience with this. Now what? - Phoenix asked.

-Well, first of all, we have to get back to Mr. bib and tell him, your police and my police what we've got so far WITHOUT telling anyone about the hostages. Maybe you can't get any help from them and prove he's innocent on your own, but our Jigsaw-wannabe never said anything about me and Gus going solo against this. Hell! If this guy wants the full Psych experience, it comes with cops in the Happy Meal.

-And no fries for a killer. - Gus added.

-Exactly. And if he's letting me know about his family, that means he won't mind we share stuff with each other.

-Probably because this guy knows we have troubles going past Lassiter.

-That wasn't necessary to mention, Gus... Now let's get outta here. Lassiter gets impatient if he doesn't have a reason to pull out his gun every five minutes.

Before they left the room, though, Frank got up and pulled out a piece of paper from the pocket of his jacket and gave it to Shawn.

-For you and that prosecutor. There's a link and a code written on it. Follow that link, input the code and the bombs will be disarmed. It will even show you their location.

-Thanks. And don't worry. We'll find them, bring them back, and we'll probably invite you all to have burgers and a pina colada.

-Can I go too!? - Maya interrupted.

-Sure. It's not like I'm gonna end up broken by doing it, right Wright?

*You have no idea...* Phoenix thought while praying for the soon-to-be empty wallet of Shawn.

**A/N: Hey! Back with another chapter for this piece of literary work. I know it's been ages since I last updated, and I also know I said investigation would begin here. Good news is: you get an update. Bad news is: investigation will have to wait because I'm trying to see what kind of response I obtain with shorter chapters. Leave a review if you like short stuff, if you prefer the long version, or if you want tacos... Can't do anything about that last one, though.**

**Anyway. In this chapter we discover how the hell Shawn knew about Edgeworth Sr. and we also get the rules for the Psych team, but it's mostly a bunch of laughs and jokes. If you like what I did or if you feel I messed up with a character, drop your review bomb so the explosion can put my head back in its place.**

**As usual, thanks to each one of you for reviews, favorite, following or just taking the time to read this. Many shout-outs to "The Good Elkin" for such a detailed review, which really got me motivated to get back into this. Thanks a ton, my friend!**


	4. This chapter sucks

The Psychic Turnabout

Chapter 4: This chapter sucks

After Psych and Wright & Co. left the interrogation room and went back to meet their friends, Shawn gave Edgeworth the code for the bombs. He gave it to an officer of the Bomb Squad so they could disable and secure the explosives while he was busy investigating the murder they were about to leave, though, someone showed up...

-HOLD IT! - A female voice said.

-Not her... - The defense and prosecution whispered at the same time.

Everyone turned (Phoenix and Edgeworth did it reluctantly) to look at the source of the voice: a young woman with blueish hair, clothes with an European style, and carrying a whip on her right hand.

-Miles Edgeworth. Don't you dare to leave without me. You knew I was coming, so you wanted to run away like the foolish chicken you are, didn't you? - She said.

-I wouldn't dream of challenging your authority in such a coward way, Franziska. - Edgeworth answered.

-And you, Mr. Phoenix Wright! What are you doing here? Probably interfering with an official investigation like the foolish fool you've always been. - She said while looking at Phoenix.

-Er... N-Nice to see you too, Ms. von Karma. - He said nervously.

Franziska von Karma. Gifted prosecutor with an almost flawless record... Except when it comes to cases including Phoenix Wright.

-I assumed you were too busy with Interpol and your other cases, so I chose to move on with my own investigation. - Edgeworth told her.

-That's where you're wrong, Miles Edgeworth. It's precisely because of my work with Interpol that I'm part of this case. After all, if a serial killer leaves his comfort zone, it won't take long before this Yin-Yang becomes a multi-state threat, and then he or she will escalate to an international level, so Interpol wants to stop this before it happens. - She said while smiling.

-And why are you here? I'm pretty sure they have more available agents and...

Edgeworth was interrupted mid-sentence as something hit him right in the chest area. More accurately, a whip.

-Are you implying I shouldn't be here, Miles Edgeworth? Or do you think I'm incompetent!? - Franziska shouted at him.

-WOAH! What the hell, you crazy woman!? - Detective Lassiter said. - I don't care if you work for Interpol, CIA or the freaking Salvation Army, but I'm gonna arrest you if you do that again!

-It's ok, detective. I'm already used to this. - Edgeworth said. - And no, Franziska. I'm no implying anything. All I'm saying is that I'm surprised Interpol allowed one of its best elements to leave them when they could have used your colossal abilities for more important cases.

-Appealing to my ego will get you nowhere, Miles Edgeworth. They announced this mission, and I requested to come here myself... You can say I missed this place just a little. - Franziska countered. - What I don't miss, no matter where I am, are foolish fools foolishly shouting and threatening me. Who are these people, Miles Edgeworth?

-These are the Santa Barbara detectives I called to assist us for this case, and the expert on the Yin-Yang killer. Detectives Carlton Lassiter and Juliet O'Hara. - The prosecutor said while gesturing with a hand to each officer.

-I'll do the rest, Edgey. - Shawn interrupted. - Hi. My name is Shawn Spencer, and this is my partner...

-Burton Guster, at your service. But you can call me Gus. - Gus interrupted with his "seductive" voice.

-Really, Gus? You're going after Miss Franzy von Whipemall? - An annoyed Shawn said.

*Oh, no. He didn't!* Phoenix and Edgeworth thought.

-How did you call me, you foolish fool!? - Franziska said with a rage that could intimidate the Incredible Hulk.

As she was raising her whip to deliver a possibly fatal blow to Shawn (who, for some reason, wasn't intimidated at all), Edgeworth got in the way.

-HOLD IT! Franziska, listen carefully. While those of us who know you can easily dismiss your... Rough interactions, hitting our guests would not be polite behavior. Not to mention that your antics could get you in trouble if they do, in fact, report your misconduct.

*CRACK* Her whip resonated after hitting the prosecutor.

-What do you take me for, Miles Edgeworth? A fool? Of course I know better than to be rude to our guests. I just wanted to see the reaction of Mr. Shawn Spencer... I must verify his "talent" by myself.

-Woahwoahwoah! Be kind, rewind, please. How do you know that...

-That you are a psychic detective? - She completed his sentence. - I am no fool, Mr. Shawn Spencer. I did my research on this case long before arriving to the city. Needless to say, I also know about you, your abilities, your partner and his multiple aliases. All of them invented by you, I must add.

-Wow. All of them? That's a long list, Franzy. Prove it.

-MC Clap Yo Handz, Magic head, Die Harder, Ernesto Agapito Garces con ya de Abelar, Hollabackatcha, Black Magic, Ghee Buttersnaps (**A/N: my personal favorite**), Control Alt Delete, G-Force, and the least original of the bunch: Shawn... Just to name a few.**  
**

Plenty of jaws were hanging once von Karma was done listing some of the nicknames Shawn had invented throughout the years.

-Er, Gus... Was your mind blown beyond proportion as well? - Shawn asked.

-A lot, actually. I still can't believe she memorized the whole Ernesto thing.

-Why does everyone know about Ghee Buttersnaps? I used that one inside a military base. It should be classified, right? - Shawn whined.

-It could be because you posted it in our official website AND our Facebook page. - Gus suggested.

-Gus. Mental note: "make our nickname collection a private album".

-Mental notes are supposed to be thought, Shawn. Not openly said so everyone can hear them.

-If you are done with your foolish gibberish, we should head to the crime scene. - Franziska interrupted.

-What's up with you and your fascination fot the word "fool"? I doubt someone raised along with Edgey and his extensive vocabulary would be less knowledgeable about the dictionary, so is that some kind of hobby? Inventing new forms to use "fool", I mean. - Shawn joked.

-How did you know about the connection between Mr. Edgeworth and Miss von Karma, pal? - A surprised Gumshoe asked.

-Psychic, pal. Remember? - Shawn said. In fact, he recognized her from the photo he saw during his videoconference with Edgeworth.

Franziska stopped her walk to the door and turned to glare at Shawn.

-Listen to me, Mr. Shawn Spencer. I'm strongly considering to disregard my education for a fraction of a second and let you taste the power of my whip, so shut your foolish mouth or I'll do it for you.

-Franziska! I told you...

-Oh, it's ok, Edgey. Let her swing that whip at me.

Everyone looked at Shawn as if he was crazy. Gus was the first to talk.

-Ok, Shawn. Look... What is wrong with you? You're the last person I thought would be into that.

-Into that? Pfft. Yeah, right. I consider pain as much of a friend as Lassie believes I'm a skilled investigator.

-Which I do not. - Lassiter said.

-See? Quod... Something.

-Quod erat demonstrandum, Mr. Shawn Spencer. - Franziska corrected. - And what is the point of allowing me to beat you into submission, then?

-The point is that you're not gonna land a single hit on me. Psychic, remember? I can see them coming long before you even think about swinging that whip.

Everyone turned to look at the daughter of the von Karma family.

-I don't have time for such foolish games, Mr. Shawn Spencer. So, if we could just conclude this foolish conversation,..

-Oh, come on! Dis gunna be fun. Look at it this way: if you land a hit, we can move on. If you don't, you get to verify my powers first-hand. A win-win situation for you. - Shawn insisted.

-Shawn, I think this is enough. We have to get to the crime scene ASAP. - Juliet said.

-It's ok, detective O'Hara... Mr. Shawn Spencer does have a valid point. A situation that allows me a victory, no matter the result, is a perfect situation. - Franziska hit the floor with her whip in order to stretch her muscles. - And a von Karma aims to perfection in everything.

-I believe we should give them some space. - Edgeworth said while indicating everyone to step back.

The whole building was quiet once the duel was ready. One-on-one... Shawn and his observation skills vs. Franziska von Karma and her legendary whip.

-Alrighty, then. 3 hits, Franzy. If you land one, we get outta here and you won't hear me talking at all during the whole trip. Deal?

-Sounds perfect, Mr. Shawn Spencer.

-Oh, right! Almost forgot. If I win, you'll stop calling me by full name and just go with Shawn.

-Doesn't matter. A von Karma is perfect in everything... - She smacked the floor again to prove her point. - Including target practice.

-Then how about Shawny?

-Don't push it, you fool.

Shawn's plan was pretty simple: keep an eye on Franziska and her whip hand, analyze the patterns of her muscle movement and calculate where she was aiming. Luckily for him, his dad's training program included self-defense, so this was an ability he was familiar with. While having better reflexes would have been useful, he was expecting that knowing the trajectory of her whip would be enough to dodge. And then he saw...

He saw her hand moving above her left shoulder, indicating a basic swing that was intended to hit him in the chest, just as she had been doing with her brother. He ducked to avoid the first strike, which knocked a pencil container shaped like a pineapple.

Everyone was shocked at this successful evasion, going from those who knew the female prosecutor and those that suffered her wrath, to those who were new around here, including the Santa Barbara guests and new officers at the precinct... Except the owner of the whip herself, who was only slightly impressed at Shawn's reflexes.

-What are you all staring like fools? That was just dumb luck, as they call it.

Shawn got back on his feet and internally gloated at the many faces he was watching, but immediately got back to his unfinished duel. Franziska didn't waste any time and started to move her hand once again, and then he saw...

He saw her raising it above her head, which described a vertical swing. Using his football knowledge, he sidestepped to the left and dodged the second hit, colliding with the floor this time.

*One is luck. Two is just... I can't believe it!* Phoenix and Edgeworth, two previous victims of that whip, shouted in their minds.

-WHAT!? How is this possible? - Franziska shouted... Literally.

-Uff... Last chance, Franzy. Then it's game over.

-For you, that is.

Shawn got back in position for the last hit, and Franziska did so as well. Shawn braced himself for whatever was going to happen, and then he saw... He saw her hand moving the same way it did before the last hit. *Really, Franzy? You think I'm guessing, so I won't expect a repeat?* Shawn thought, but before he could crouch again, he saw... He saw Franziska changing the angle as she was already moving for the hit. Shawn managed to figure out she was aiming for a low hit to his legs, but he didn't have enough time to get out of the way. Without many ideas left, he did the only thing he could think of without much time to think things through: he dropped himself to tye floor, landing on top of the whip and stopping it instantly.

N one could believe what had just happened in front of their eyes. Not only did the psychic detective had won, but he also incapacitated the most feared weapon in the whole precinct and the prosecution's office.

-Wow! Just... Wow! - It wasGumshoe who finally broke the silence.

-He did it! - Maya shouted.

And the croud goes wild! Every officer, inmate and employee in the proximity cheered and applauded at Shawn for doing what seemed impossible... It didn't last too long, though.

-What do you think you're doing, you foolish fools!? Back to your own business! - Franziska shouted at everyone.

And every person at the building did as they were told. Franziska, on the other hand, went straight to the door without saying a word. With the excitement finally fading, everyone related to the case did so as well after Edgeworth gave them instructions to follow his own car to the crime scene... Well. Everyone except for Shawn who was still on the floor.

-You ok, Shawn? - Gus asked his friend.

-Depends... Did I win?

-You're fine. Get up and let's get outta here. - Gus told him while extending a hand to him.

Shawn got up and they walked to the door, but met Edgeworth at the exit.

-She won't openly admit it, Mr. Spencer, but you truly impressed her. - He said and went outside.

Shawn and Gus just stood there, processing what the prosecutor told them.

-Same goes for him, I guess. Maybe he's using Franzy to express what he thinks. - Shawn said.

-They're pretty similar, even if they won't "openly admit it, Mr. Spencer". - Gus said while doing an impression of Edgeworth.

-Must be because they grew up together. - Shawn deduced.

-Who knows? Maybe it's a family trait.

-In times like this, being raised by a police officer doesn't sound so bad... - Shawn said. - It's still bad, though.

-And that's why I don't envy you at all. - Gus joled and walked to his car.

-Wait, what? Oh, come on, Gus! There's plenty of stuff to envy about me. - Shawn said while heading to his friend's car and on their way to a murder scene.

**A/N: hey, readers! Yeah... Not much to see about this chapter. I wanted to introduce Franzy to the story and explore her possible response to the Psych team before starting the investigation. I thought mixing this concept with the whole investigation would make a long chapter, so I split things up and this happened.**

**So... A duel between a psychic and a whip-happy prosecutor, and Shawn won... Barely. If you liked this thing or think I messed up somewhere (especially when it comes to Franziska, since I fear I probably portrayed her in a wrong way), your reviews are highly appreciated.  
**

**On a few side notes... As some of you might have noticed, I have a new project that I call "The Dark Phoenix". For those of you that haven't checked that fic yet, I will basically turn AA characters into members of the family, or villains from the gallery. As expected, Phoenix has become something similar to Batman, but with his own codename. If you're interested and want more details, check it out. You won't regret it. By now, some must be thinking "Is he self-advertising?", and this is half-true. Yes, it's advertising, but it's related to this fic for a reason: I have now decided to turn TDP into my main project, so I'll focus on it more than TPT. Oh, don't worry! I'm not dropping this fic or giving it in adoption anytime soon. I'll just update my main project more frequently than this one. As for the reason of switching priorities, here's the thing... I got myself an artist that is willing to draw the transformed characters for free! Yes, people! The Dark Phoenix, Joker and many more characters to come will have official artwork. Get hype!**

**Another thing: I'm officially requesting betareaders to correct my increasing number of typos and other mistakes. More details at chapter 3 of TDP, but I will basically test the candidates by double-checking projects already out. If you pass, you get early access to my future updates and other projects than can possibly happen. Some info I will require:**

**-Pen name.**

**-Age.**

**-Methods you will use**

**With that out of the way, have fun while surfing the internets, people! Stay awesomelicious.**

**Edit: a reviewer brought to my attention that I messed up during Franziska's details about the case. Namely, the fact that I called Yin-Yang multi-state, when Santa Barbara and LA are both part of California. I tweaked it a little, so it should be fixed. I also elaborated on how Shawn knew about Franzy and Edgeworth living together. Not too big of an edit, but still...**


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